


Dr. Merlyn, MD

by imusuallyobsessed



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 1x09 Year's End, 1x14 The Odyssey, 2x01, 4x09 dark waters, 4x10 Blood Debts, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Arrow Season 1, Childbirth, Childhood Trauma, Doctors & Physicians, Early Season 4, Episode 05e17 kapiushon, Episode: s01e09 Year's End, Episode: s01e14 The Odyssey, Episode: s04e10 Blood Debts, F/M, Flommy friendship, Hospitals, Kidnapping, Laurel Lance is Alive, Major Character Injury, Medical, Merlance, Oliver and Donna are friends, Paralysis, Post Episode: s04e09 Dark Waters, Pregnancy, Rating May Change, Season 1, Surgery, Team Arrow, Theroy, Tommy Merlyn is Alive, Tommy Merlyn is a sass master, arrow season 2, childhood verbal abuse, dyla, eventually, he's the main character, i don't know what their ship name is, it annoys Felicity, obviously, olicity - Freeform, season 4, smoaknlance - Freeform, thearoy, this story is being told out of order, who doesn't get enough sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5413577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imusuallyobsessed/pseuds/imusuallyobsessed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy Merlyn found his calling in life when he accidentally signed up for a pre-med class in college. He got his act together, fought his way through medical school and those claiming he was only there because of his money, and is working through his residency to specialize in trauma surgery. As if things aren't hectic enough, his best friend is a vigilante who can't seem to stop getting hurt on Tommy's days off.</p><p>Marked as complete, as this is just a series of non-linear oneshots. Requests for episodes/scenes you'd like to read are welcome!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Double Shifts and Broken Wrists

**Author's Note:**

> This stemmed, once again, from a conversation with @acheaptrickandacheesyoneline over on Tumblr. Basically, what would happen if everything was the same but Tommy was a doctor? I've wanted to write this ever since I saw Colin Donnell was going to be on Chicago Med. So, double inspiration! I AM accepting prompts for this verse over on my Tumblr, so ask away if there's anything you want to see!
> 
> Just so everyone knows, this chapter takes place several years before the first two. They take place during vaguely season 4 and beyond and this one is during season 1.

Tommy was nearing the end of a twelve hour shift at Star City General Hospital, and he felt the exhaustion dragging at his feet. He’d only been asleep for about seven hours, coming off another shift, when Marsha had called him in tears. Her aging mother in Coast City had a bad fall and Marsha needed to leave town immediately to take care of her. Everyone else was busy and she needed someone to cover her shift. Tommy, of course, had said he would. Who was he to begrudge someone who had a functional relationship with their parents?

 

So, having spent more time working than not in the past 36 hours, he was more than ready to clock out and fall asleep. He had the next two days off and planned on taking full advantage. His vigilante best friend was out of town in Coast City, personally chasing down some leads concerning a mission his team was on. It’d be nice not getting calls at all hours of the night to come patch up his friends.

 

That was, until he saw a familiar blonde in tight, bright workout gear walk into the ER clutching her right arm. He shook his head a few times, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. It _was_ three a.m. and he was running on hardly any sleep. The vision didn’t change, though, so he called, “Felicity?”

 

She froze for a moment before turning slowly and meeting his eyes. She wasn’t wearing her glasses so her every expression was playing out on her face. She looked like she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

 

“Tommy!” she said with a bright smile, shaking her head once to get out of her funk before walking toward him. “I didn’t think you were working tonight!”

 

“Yeah, I took a shift for Marsha. She had to go out to Coast City to be with her mom,” he said, speaking slowly while his brain tried to catch up with his eyes. He… was pretty sure no one was that intimately acquainted with his schedule. “Did you hack the hospital server to check the work schedule?”

 

Felicity’s eyes flew wide and she immediately pursed her lips and shook her head. “No, no, no… Of course not!” she said, her tone bright and sunny. After a few moments under Tommy’s withering it’s-three-a.m.-don’t-bullshit-the-trauma-surgeon gaze, she sighed. “Ok, maybe. But hey, since you’re here, I think I fractured something. My hand or wrist or something hurts a lot and it’s really swollen and I couldn’t find Digg’s aspirins and I thought to myself, hey, I’m Palmer Tech’s CEO and we get great medical so I thought I’d just come to the hospital instead of calling you since it’s your usual night off…”

 

Tommy saw her mentally counting down in her head before she let out a breath and nodded. He turned silently and led her to a bed. Once she was sitting, he set about gently examining her right arm. She hissed, even as his light touch, and Tommy sighed. “Your wrist is at least fractured. I think it might be broken. I’ll order an x-ray to make sure. You’re looking at a few weeks in a brace at least. What did you even do?” he asked while simultaneously ordering the x-ray and watching Felicity’ face.

 

She was biting her lip, and Tommy could see her brilliant mind working behind her eyes. Normally he’d be pestering her with a wink and a lewd comment about what had happened, but sweet, charismatic Dr. Merlyn - constantly called Star City’s ~~Hottest Doctor~~ ‘Own McSteamy’ by the tabloids - had left the building about halfway through his shift.

 

Felicity sighed. “Well, everyone was busy and Oliver’s out of town so I decided to try some self-defense training on one of those wooden thingies with all the arms but I don’t think I did the punch right,” she said, looking up at him with big, soulful blue eyes before switching gears. “So, a brace. I don’t have to wear it like… all the time, right?”

 

“All the time for _at least_ two weeks, Felicity. If it’s not broken. Which it probably is.”

 

“Ok, but like… I can take it off whenever I’m around Oliver or the team, right? … Your eyes are telling me no but I’m hoping your mouth will tell me yes ...”

 

Tommy didn’t even try to fight the smile she brought to his face. It was the first time he’d smiled in hours. His best friend’s fiancée had the effect on people.

 

“Felicity, the team is going to find out. _Oliver_ is going to find out. Might as well tell them,” he said with an amused smile on his face while he watched Felicity try to come up with a solution to her problem. Obviously, she was keeping her training a secret for some reason. She probably wanted to surprise the team with her skills and now didn’t want to hear the inevitable “I told you so’s” and “what were you thinking’s” the team would probably send her way. Roy, at least, would use this as joke fodder for weeks. He probably would too, once he had a solid eight hours of sleep.

 

Finally, her pursed her lips and looked up at him. “I guess you’re right. I just wanted to surprise everyone! Now they’re all going to make fun of me because I can’t even throw a punch right…” she said while looking down at her wrist like it had personally failed this Felicity.

 

“You probably won’t be able to type for at least a week, either. Your wrist will be way too sore,” he said, his smile fading a little as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

 

She groaned and closed her eyes. “I didn’t even think about that! Stupid wooden thingy with arms!” she cried, staring at the ceiling before finally looking back at Tommy.

 

He gently patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go get that x-ray.”

 

* * *

 

“I feel bad taking up all your time. Don’t you have patients or something, Dr. Merlyn?” Felicity asked. Her tone was teasing and her voice was slurring just a little with the pain meds he had given her before he started casting her broken right wrist with cotton padding.

 

“As if I’m gonna make one of my best friends see another doctor while they’re here,” he said, smiling briefly up at Felicity before returning his focus to her wrist. “Besides, I’m easily the most charming and good-looking. I wouldn’t want you to suffer during your stay.”

 

That made Felicity laugh, much more loudly than his joke warranted, and he smiled again. “I’ll make sure to give Star City General Trauma a 5-star review. Excellent service, very charming and handsome doctors,” she said, laughing again at her own joke.

 

“Anyway, there’s not that many people here right now. Guess the villains are taking a break while a certain someone is away,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper at the end. Digg was still going out in the Green Arrow outfit a bit to relieve suspicion, but the bad guys seemed to be able to sense the real vigilante was gone and were taking the time to relax.

 

“Oh, Oliver. I miss him,” she said, her eyes glassy and her tone slurring. Had he given her too much pain medicine? He was a doctor. He’d been to medical school. He knew how to properly administer pain medicine. Maybe medicine just affected her more strongly than most people? “I’m gonna call him.”

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, picking up the bright pink plaster to set the padding with.

 

“I’m gonna call him,” she repeated, digging her phone out of her bag and pressing a few buttons with her left hand. She put the phone on speaker and held it between herself and Tommy.

 

It only rang a few times before the familiar voice of Oliver broke through. “Hey, hon. Are you ok?” he asked, sounding concerned. His fiancée was calling him after three a.m., after all.

 

“I’m _fine!_ Tommy gave me this stuff that’s as good as Digg’s aspirins,” she said, grinning up at Tommy. He huffed, shaking his head.

 

Oliver was silent for a moment before he spoke again, much more quickly and concerned. “Why did Tommy give you medicine, Felicity? Are you hurt? Tommy, are you there?” he asked, his tone getting more and more frantic. Tommy decided to take pity on him.

 

“She’s fine, man. Just broke her wrist. I took a shift for a friend and saw her when she came in,” he said, grinning up at Felicity before finishing off her cast.

 

“Shh, don’t tell him!” Felicity said, moving her hand clutching the phone and putting the back of her fingers over his mouth. “It’s a secret!”

 

Tommy couldn’t help it. He’d had two twelve-hour shifts in barely a day and a half. He started laughing. “Felicity, I think the cat’s out of the bag,” he managed to get out between laughs.

 

“…. Felicity? Tommy?” Oliver sounded so lost on the phone, and Tommy couldn’t blame him.

 

“Chill, man. I’m off the clock so I’ll take her home. Call Felicity this afternoon and she’ll explain everything.”

 

“But I don’t _want_ to…”

 

Tommy shook his head, grinning at his friend. “Sorry, Lis. Don’t think you can talk your way out of this one.”

 

Eventually, they hung up on Oliver and Tommy took Felicity home. He made sure she got inside and got to bed without hurting her wrist. She’d been asleep before he left her bedroom.

  
He got home, _finally,_ flopping onto his bed just as the sun was rising over Star City. It had been a crazy almost two days, but with Felicity as a friend things were hardly ever boring.


	2. "Emergency" Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While studying for his board exams, Tommy gets an "emergency" phone call from a member of Team Arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, wonderful readers! Here's the next installment of the scintillating story of the life of Dr. Tommy Merlyn. In the comments on chapter 1, @alayneni suggested Baby Sara getting something stuck up her nose and @jaye_elle asked for more Team Arrow on the phone! I tried to incorporate both of those things into this chapter. Feel free to submit prompts in the comments or to me on Tumblr! I'd love hearing from you guys over there, where I go by the same username.
> 
> Special thanks to @acheaptrickandacheesyoneline for being my constant cheerleader and inspiring the ending and to @octoberwren for always being so wonderfully supportive.
> 
> (And oh my gosh! Over 1000 hits and over 100 kudos? You guys are amazing!!!)

When Tommy’s phone rang, he panicked.

That wasn’t his usual response to his cellphone ringing, but when he’d told everyone he knew not to bother him under any circumstances unless they were literally dying because he was studying for his boards, it was definitely cause for worry.

His apartment was full of fellow critical care residents, all with the mindless, glazed expressions of people who had spent too long staring at flashcards and not getting any sun exposure. They all flocked to his apartment because it was closest to the hospital and he had several guest bedrooms.

When he was a freshman in college and realized that his father wasn’t going to be pleased that his only child wasn’t going to become a Merlyn Global exec, he invested the trust fund his mom left him and was now independently wealthy. Which was good, because when Malcolm realized that Tommy wasn’t going to give up on medical school he cut off his only son. They had barely spoken in almost ten years.

“ _What?”_ he asked when he finally found the phone under a pile of pizza boxes and answered it. He didn’t bother to disguise his panic.

“I know you didn’t want anyone to call unless it was an emergency, but this is definitely an emergency!” exclaimed the urgent voice of John Diggle, and Tommy’s stomach dropped. If the ex-soldier was calling, anything could be wrong.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s Sara! Lyla says this is normal, but – “

“That’s because it’s _perfectly_ normal, Johnny!” came the voice of Lyla Diggle. Her voice had faded in and then become the dominant one in his ear, so she’d obviously taken the phone from her husband. “I’m so sorry, Tommy. Johnny’s just overreacting. You should get back to studying.”

“What is it?” he asked, slightly mollified by the reassurances of the secret agent but still worried. This was baby Sara, his niece in every way but blood. If anything was wrong with her, even if Lyla deemed it “normal,” he wanted to know.

Lyla sighed and Tommy could practically see her rolling her eyes, probably muttering something about how ridiculous men were. “I swear she’s fine. We’re getting dressed right now and about to go to the local emergency care center. Sara was playing and we turned around for five seconds to get some snacks from the kitchen. She started screaming and when we came back into the room, she had Legos stuck up her nose. We tried to get them out, but they’re stuck pretty firmly and she kept crying louder whenever we tried. They’ll give her something to calm her down at the Doc in the Box and everything will be fine in a couple hours,” she explained everything in a rush, probably running around her house gathering everything to go to the doctor.

“No, no, I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said, moving around his apartment and getting his things ready. He stepped over his fellow residents, tuning out the sound of the game on TV and the near-constant sound of medical terminology bouncing off the walls.

Lyla sighed again, much more heavily this time. “That’s really not necessary, Tommy. You’re busy. Just let us handle this, everything will be fine – “

There were more sounds of scuffling and then Digg’s voice took over again. “Oh, thank God, Tommy. How fast can you be here?” he asked. If it had been anyone else, Tommy would’ve said the parents were overreacting. If any other kid showed up in his ER with Legos stuffed up their nose, he’d scoff and roll his eyes before turning on his Charming McSteamy of Star City Dr. Merlyn Smile and taking care of it. In this case, though, it was Sara. Stress and worry were clouding his already sleep-deprived mind and it was a miracle he got out the door fully clothed and with the old-school, engraved leather doctor house call bag that Oliver had gotten Tommy as a gag when he’d graduated medical school. Yeah, he was in house slippers, sweats, and an old Harvard Med shirt, but his niece needed him.

“Don’t burn the place down, I’ll be back in a couple hours,” he called to everyone in the apartment, and they all made agreeable noises before going back to studying.

Tommy made it across town to the Diggle house in ten minutes, and it wasn’t because he had the fastest car around. (He may have been really smart with his investments in college, but he had to pay for undergrad and med school and all his living expenses by himself.)

He burst through the door, a small part of his brain thanking Lyla for having the foresight to leave it unlocked for him.

“Where’s the patient?” he called, trying to make sense of the mayhem that met him.

Sara was sitting in the middle of the living room, wailing and crying and surrounded by Legos. Digg was running around the living space and kitchen, obviously trying to get different things to soothe his daughter. None of them were working. Lyla was the only still point, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and rubbing her forehead with her free hand.

“Oh, thank God,” she said, springing to her feet and grabbing Sara. “Five more minutes and I would’ve gone to the emergency medical center anyway.”

“Sorry,” he said absently, but he only had eyes for his niece. He cleared a space in the Legos with his foot and sat in front of baby Sara. She was still crying, but it had lessened a little seeing her Uncle Tommy there.

Digg ran into the room when he heard the door burst open and sighed with relief when he saw Tommy standing there. The soldier had been through three tours in Afghanistan and four years working for the Green Arrow, but Tommy never sees him so flustered as when something is wrong with his daughter.

Then again, Team Arrow is rarely as flustered as when something is wrong with Sara.

“Hey, angel,” he murmured as he reached for her face, gently moving her head around to get a good look at what was wrong. “Looks like you got yourself in quite a bind.” Tommy kept his voice low and soothing, which always helped with the younger visitors of Star City General and Sara, it seemed, was no exception. Dr. Jacobs had been trying to recruit him since his peds rotation when he was an intern.

Tommy took a tube of Lidocaine cream and long forceps out of his bag, which was all he should need. Sara started crying again in earnest when she saw the shiny silver instrument but Tommy hid it under his leg and started murmuring soft reassurances to the toddler and singing her favorite song from _Frozen._

“ _Let it go, let it go...”_ he sang, trying to engage Sara with the song as he softly spread the cream across her poor little nose to numb it. Taking the Legos out probably wouldn’t hurt much more than it did right now, but babies panicked when their parents did and John Diggle was definitely panicking right now.

“What’s that? Is it going to hurt? Is it normal for her to be crying this much?” he asked, not leaving enough time between questions for the doctor on his living room floor to actually answer.

Sara just started crying harder at the sound of her daddy’s voice, and Tommy sighed.

“Lidocaine to numb her nose, it might hurt but not as bad as you think, and she’s crying because of how you reacted,” Tommy said, keeping his focus entirely on the toddler in front of him.

The man stood up taller, probably about to shout something about “you don’t understand, you’re not a father,” but Tommy kept going.

“Digg, I know she’s your kid, but you have to calm down or leave the room. She knows you’re scared and it’s scaring her more,” Tommy said, never taking his eyes off his patient but tracking the nervous father’s pacing in his peripheral vision. “Babies take cues on how to act from their parents.”

Lyla said some quiet things to her husband and the man left the room after one last, mournful look at his daughter. The woman huffed a little, but smiled over at Tommy once Digg left. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember that we got married in a war zone the first time when I see him act like this,” she said, taking a seat on the floor behind her daughter and gently rubbing the toddler’s back.

Tommy shrugged, using one hand to gently tilt Sara’s head up and the other to grab the hidden forceps. “I’ve seen the mighty Green Arrow brought low by a five foot five blonde. Not much can surprise me anymore,” he said, getting straight to his work.

The cream had numbed Sara’s nose, which was good. The cold touch of the forceps would’ve set her crying again immediately if she’d been able to feel them.

“Seriously, Tommy, thank you for coming. You really didn’t have to. I know how busy you are with boards and how important being certified is to you,” she said, watching her daughter instead of his face. That was something he liked a lot about Lyla Diggle. She offered advice and comfort in ambiguous, roundabout ways and never made anyone feel forced to take them.

The boards _were_ important to him. Sure, they were important to every doctor, but Tommy Merlyn had been fighting since he was eighteen to prove himself worthy, to prove that he wasn’t a fuck-up at _everything,_ to prove that just because he was a Merlyn didn’t mean that was the only reason he got into the top medical school in the world even though his dad had cut him off by then anyway, and that insecure teenager had never really left.

Tommy didn’t just want to pass the boards. He wanted to destroy them. He wanted to pass the test with the best grades they’d ever seen.

It wasn’t because he wanted Malcolm’s approval, because fuck that. He’d stopped wanting to please his father after he abandoned Tommy without a word when his mother died. A tiny part of him wanted to shove it in his estranged father’s face and everyone else who had sneered that he couldn’t do it that he had succeeded entirely on his own, but the bigger part wanted to prove it to _himself._ Tommy Merlyn had made it. He had paid his way through undergrad at Harvard and made it through the most prestigious medical school in the world. He had been self-sufficient for almost ten years. Only a small, angry part of him that wanted to stick it to anyone who scoffed when they heard he got into medical school.

“Yeah, they’re important,” he said, still focusing on being as gentle as possible with the toddler in his hands. “But she’s my niece. She’s more important.”

That was something Tommy had always been terrified of. The thought that having Malcolm as a father, everything he’d been through in his childhood, had broken something fundamental inside of him that could have a real family. Sure, he’d had Ollie back then and treated Thea like a sister and the Queens like family, but what if they were the only exception?

It seemed like a ridiculous thing to be afraid of now, with the toddler sitting docile under the gentle touch of his hands (helped along by her mother’s soothing back rub, probably). He had learned that family wasn’t bound by blood. He had his best friend, a half-sister, his crazy vigilante team, a niece, and he sort of had Laurel. They were due for an important conversation soon… After he took the boards.

“All done,” he said, holding the offending Legos in his hand and sitting back with a smile. Once Tommy let go of her head, Sara let it drop and grinned up at him, her dark eyes sparkling. He was helpless to do anything but return the little girl’s joyful expression. He reached into his sweatpants pocket and pulled out a warhead candy which was inexplicably the toddler’s favorite. Her face lit up with a smile and she reached for it, babbling like her Aunt Felicity.

“You deserve a reward for being the best patient I’ve had in months,” he said, handing Sara the candy. He tried not to think about the fact that it must have been in his pocket for two weeks, which was the last time he’d visited his little niece to babysit so her parents could go on a date. There hadn’t been a lot of variation in his wardrobe since he started studying.

Once the little girl was sucking on her candy, her little face puckered at the sourness, Lyla called Digg back in and picked Sara up. The man walked over to his wife immediately and kissed his daughter on the head while the doctor stood up.

“Seriously, thanks man. I know I was overreacting, but…”

Tommy shook his head before the man could finish. “I get it. It’s normal to freak out when something is happening to _your_ kid,” he said, leaning over and kissing his niece on the cheek before picking up his bag. “As much as I’d love to stay, I’m going to have to end this house call and go back to studying.”

Lyla and John smiled and the soldier clapped him on the shoulder. “Once your crazy test is over, we’ll take you out to dinner. A _real_ dinner, not takeout like you’ve probably been eating for the past two weeks. It’s the least I can do,” he said, and Tommy shrugged.

“If you insist,” the doctor said. Being independently wealthy didn’t mean it wasn’t nice to be treated by his friends every now and again.

They walked him to the door. “One more thank you for the house call, Dr. Merlyn,” Lyla said, tilting her arms so he could take Sara from her. She’d been reaching for her uncle. He hugged his niece tightly and showered her little head with kisses.

“It’ll just cement my place as favorite uncle,” he said, holding Sara up so he could lock eyes with her. “We have to keep Uncle Oliver on his toes, right sweetie?”

The little girl just laughed at him and Tommy could pretend she was in agreement. Watching Oliver try to pretend he wasn’t pouting about Tommy being Sara’s favorite uncle was one of his favorite pastimes. Sure, he bribed her with warheads and Disney songs, but whatever worked,

He handed Sara to her mom and walked back to his car. The Diggle’s watched him get in and waved as he drove away.

The apartment was still standing when he got back, and he came back to a chorus of cheers at the pad Thai takeout and bottles of whiskey he was carrying. “Yeah, yeah, I’m the best,” he said with a grin, setting the food down so everyone could get some.

Marsha stood with him while they were scarfing down the food, updating him on her mom and other small talk that strictly _wasn’t_ about anything medical related.

“Where did you go, by the way?” she asked, her brown eyes curious but not nosey. That was something he adored about Marsha. She was so incredibly not interested in him and never would be, if her girlfriend Shonda had anything to say about it, and was an extremely refreshing friend to have.

“I had to sing _Let It Go_ to my niece and take Legos out of her nose,” he said, shoveling noodles in his face almost faster than he was swallowing.

Marsha had laughed so hard that they had to tell everyone else the story, too. That devolved to everyone taking shots of whiskey and belting _Fuck it all, fuck it all, I’m going to fail my boards! Fuck my friends, fuck them all, I’m so going to fail!_

Tommy was only marginally more proud that he passed his boards with flying colors than his “Let It Go, Boards Remix 2015” video getting 5 million views on YouTube.


	3. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy Merlyn gets called into the hospital when the Dark Archer takes hostages to lure out the Hood. Criminals seem to take the police distraction as an invitation to run rampant.
> 
> After a few hours, his best friend's bodyguard comes in with Ollie. He says it was a "motorcycle accident." Unfortunately for them, Tommy Merlyn is a very smart man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! New Dr. Merlyn! This update was pretty emotional, no lie. It's my take on 1x09 for this universe, and I can't imagine that a Tommy Merlyn intelligent enough to graduate Harvard then get into the most prestigious medical school in the country and graduate almost at the top of his class wouldn't be able to see right through that flimsy "motorcycle accident" excuse. Here's what happens when Dr. Merlyn operates on his best friend for the first time.
> 
> This is kind of a "flashback" chapter, I guess. The first two take place in season 4-ish time and this is during season 1.

The entire city was panicking. With the mysterious Dark Archer holding hostages to get the vigilante to come out of hiding, the rest of the city’s criminals took it as a personal invitation to run rampant and wreak havoc while the police were focused elsewhere.

Tommy was glued to his TV, mouth slightly agape as he watched the live news coverage. He’d wanted to go to the Queen’s Christmas dinner since it was the first since his best friend had miraculously returned, but he knew it would be more business than pleasure. And worse, his father would be there. They hadn’t spoken since the summer between Tommy’s sophomore and junior years at Harvard, and even then it had just been so Malcolm could let his son know that as long as he was pursuing this “foolish venture,” he wasn’t going to get any monetary support.

Safe to say, Tommy wasn’t about to go sit at a table and have a civilized conversation with Malcolm Merlyn.

He would’ve been hanging out with Laurel on his night off, probably eating takeout and watching the news with rapt attention, but after the insanely awkward moment between her, him and Detective Lance earlier in the evening, she’d decided to spend some time with her father. Tommy couldn’t exactly begrudge her a relationship with hers just because he didn’t have one with his.

His phone started blaring “Calling Dr. Love” – Thea’s idea of a joke when he got out of medical school that he hadn’t had the heart to change, and he picked up without even looking.

“Hello?”

“Merlyn, its Vazquez,” the voice on the other end said quickly. Marius Vazquez was administrative personnel at Starling General Hospital, but he was also a certified nurse which was why they’d hired him. Cross trained staff was extremely important to the board of directors.

“Things are insane here. We’re calling everyone in.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Tommy hung up, grabbed his wallet and keys, and ran out of his apartment. True to his word, he was parked and walking into the hospital in ten minutes.

He didn’t run through the halls because that made patients and visitors panic, but he wasn’t wasting any time getting to the locker room and changing into his scrubs either.

Once he was at the ER, he found Dr. Thompson, director of surgery, and got straight to work.

Tommy wasn’t an intern anymore, but he hadn’t been a resident for very long either. Nights like this weren’t exactly knew to him, but he hadn’t experienced very many yet. There was just something special about crime in Starling City. When one criminal acted up, the rest took it as an invitation to do the same.

The TVs were on, showing the coverage of the hostage situation, but Tommy could barely pay attention. He set broken limbs, soothed panicking patients, and sent bad cases back to an OR. His hands were practically itching to cut into someone, but Dr. Thompson had told him to stay in the ER and deal with cases as they came in and delegate the worse ones. Tommy was an amazing surgeon, well on his way to becoming the head of general surgery one day if his mentors were to be believed, but on nights like this he knew they needed his charming personality on the front lines. No matter how stressful things were, something about him managed to soothe even the most freaked out patients.

So, he grit his teeth and put a smile on.

Who knew working in a hospital would be so much like his childhood sometimes?

* * *

He didn’t know how long he’d been there, setting bones, diagnosing head injuries, even treating a hand-cuffed criminal or two, when he heard Marsha shout, “Oh my gosh, it’s the Hood!”

Everyone, patient and doctor alike, turned to look at the TV. The green-clad vigilante zip-lined into the warehouse, managed to avoid all the spotlights and police officers, and disappeared.

“About time,” Tommy grumbled, turning back to the next patient under his hands. Sure, it could be argued that the Hood was doing good for Starling City, but Tommy still had mixed feelings. He was doing good, but he was murdering people to make it happen. Bad people, but people nonetheless. Did murderers deserve to be murdered? Tommy wasn’t sure if he was contemplating that question in relation to the vigilante or his victims.

Within a few minutes, all the hostages were on the roof and Dr. Thompson raised her voice over the din of the ER. “Get ready, they’re all being transported here!”

Tommy sighed again, settling in for a long night at the hospital. Sure, they were better funded than Glades Memorial, but they also had way more patients since their hospital wasn’t in the worst part of town.

Immediately, Tommy felt guilty for thinking that. Glades Memorial had way more patients that were victims of violent crime, and they had to make due with trickier, more dangerous surgeries without all the resources that Starling General had. He would know since he’d spent several weeks cross there under the no-nonsense eye of their head of general surgery.

Tommy got back into his work, and some amount of time later John Diggle came bursting into the ER dragging an unconscious Ollie.

“Tommy!” he shouted, his dark eyes finding the doctor’s and he was at his friend’s side in an instant.

“What the hell happened?” Tommy exclaimed, trying to check his friend for injuries as they moved through the ER. People were swarming them, trying to get Digg to put his charge on a stretcher, but the bodyguard firmly shook his head.

“Motorcycle accident. He’d want you to do it, Tommy,” Digg said, his voice calm and his dark eyes firm and unyielding. Dr. Thompson agreed after just a moment of deliberating, anything to get the son of one of their biggest donors on a stretcher and into an OR.

Tommy immediately scrubbed, tying on his own mask and covering gown. Assisting nurses tended to do this, especially if the surgery was an emergency one, but Tommy had quick hands and always had to make sure they did a secure job even if they tied it for him. It made him more comfortable to do it himself.

“Talk to me, Kiki,” he said, feeling a brief moment of happiness that his favorite assisting nurse was in this surgery with him before he focused again on his best friend bleeding on his table.

“Two deep puncture wounds in his upper and upper-middle quadrants of his back, one in the back of his left thigh, various lacerations, deep bruising in the upper-lower quadrant of his back. His front isn’t in great shape either, but nothing that’ll hurt him while we plug the leaks back here,” she said swiftly but clearly.

He stared at his best friend’s back, refusing to take in all the old scar tissue he could see. He’d read Ollie’s charts when he’d come back, sure, but he hadn’t seen it for himself yet. Tommy hadn’t been his attending physician and he didn’t want to find out anything before Ollie was comfortable telling him. Too late now.

The scars near Ollie’s wounds were stained with iodine. That’s what Tommy focused on while he worked.

“Damn, Ollie, what’d you crash into, rebar?” he spoke while he rooted through his friend’s body to find the source of the bleeding. His right lung was just clipped, thank everything, and he let Kiki drain the blood and make sure none was left in his lung before Tommy got to work.

While his hands put Ollie back together, his brain worked.

Tommy Merlyn was smart. Extremely smart. He graduated one of the most difficult schools in the country with flying colors, took a few extra classes at MIT to pad and diversify his resume, got into the best medical school in the world, and was basically on the fast track to be the youngest director of surgery in Starling City history.

It had taken him a few semesters of actually trying to realize this. His whole life, he’d been one half of Tommy-and-Ollie. Troublemaker, trust fund baby, wild child, disappointment. He’d never tried because he never had to. Then, he’d taken that Into to Pre-Med class and everything changed. For once, he _wanted_ to succeed. On his own merit, too, and not because Malcolm Merlyn cut a check.

So, he tried. And realized he was pretty damn good at school. Then, when Malcolm cut him off, he _had_ to succeed. Just because he had his mom’s money and technically could still cut a check, he wouldn’t. He shoved the last, tattered memories of his childhood with Malcolm into a strongbox in his brain and refused to open it again. He didn’t need the memories of being a disappointed to the Merlyn name, being told he was useless, being told he’d never do anything on his own. They were part of the tinder for the insatiable fire in him to _be better_ , but he never consciously returned to that part of his life. He kept the memories of Ollie and Thea and the Queen family, of course, but forced himself to black out the rest.

That was part of why where his brain was taking him hurt so much. Ollie may have been missing for the past five years, but that wasn’t his fault. Before that, he’d always been there for Tommy. He’d comforted him when his father disappeared, became his brother in all but blood, and they _never_ lied to each other.

Which was why, whenever Ollie counteracted whatever poisonous thing Malcolm spat at his son, Tommy had believed him wholeheartedly.

_Come on, Tommy. You’re not worthless. You’re my best friend. That’s worth a hell of a lot to me._

_If anyone’s a disgrace, it’s Malcolm. He ran off, not you._

_Who fucking cares if he thinks you’re a ‘disappointment to the Merlyn name?’ That’s all he’s ever been to you. And his opinion isn’t the only fucking one in the world, Tommy. You’ve never disappointed me._

As Tommy finished patching up his best friend who’d never lied to him, never tried to deceive him, never kept a secret from him, he couldn’t ignore the strong prick of tears behind his eyes.

“Tommy, you did good,” Kiki said, obviously seeing his distress and laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. Even through layers of gloves and scrubs, her genuine warmth and sincerity melted through a tiny bit of the spiral Tommy felt like he was stuck in. “You’re allowed to be freaking out a little, though. That was your best friend cut open on the table.”

Tommy nodded, probably thanking Kiki as he walked out but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what he said.

He walked to Digg in the waiting room. The bodyguard was definitely freaked out by Tommy’s leaden step and hollow eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“He’s fine. Clipped a lung, but after a few weeks he’ll be fine. He may experience fatigue, shortness of breath, trouble thinking or depression. He needs to come back in a couple weeks to check for lung infections. The rest of the wounds hit some pretty important muscles, but he’ll heal eventually,” he said, keeping his voice low and soothing but he could tell Digg was on edge. That shattered look in his eyes was making the vet nervous.

To drop the bomb now, or later?

Oh, fuck it.

“He may have to take a break from leaping across rooftops and murdering people who’ve ‘failed this city,’” he spat, feeling that hollowness fill with rage. His best friend, his confidant, the one person who’d always accepted him and been accepted in return, had _lied_ to him. Not just lied, but became some crazy vigilante who ran around in green leather and _killed_ people.

Digg looked shocked for a moment, but it melted away to a clear question on his face.

Tommy scoffed. “I’m smart, Mr. Diggle. I graduated from the most difficult medical school in the world with flying colors. I know what motorcycle accidents look like and I know what _arrow wounds_ look like,” he bit out, glaring at the bodyguard. Tommy wasn’t mad at _him_ , but he was the closest target. There was no way the man who brought his bleeding best friend to the ER didn’t know his secret.

“I know you’re in shock right now, but when Oliver wakes up he’ll explain – “ the man finally said, looking at the doctor with tired eyes.

Tommy sneered, feeling a bitter, spiteful anger twist his face. “I don’t want a fucking _explanation_. I want the Hood _out_ of my hospital and my life,” he snarled, letting the hot rage control his words. It felt good to give into it, if only for a moment.

Digg looked shocked. “I know how you probably feel right now,” Digg said, ignoring Tommy’s scoff, “He’s different since he came back, but he’s still your best friend.”

Tommy glared at Digg for a moment before saying, “Not anymore. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to. Mr. Queen is in his family’s private room in the hospital.”

With that, Tommy turned around and went back to the ER. He had a job to do. He’d think about his best friend being the Starling City Vigilante later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think??? Emotional, yeah? Leave me a comment to prompt me or talk, a kudo to let me know how much you love Dr. Merlyn, and check me out on Tumblr @imusuallyobsessed to chat!


	4. he who much has suffer'd, much will know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of 1x14 (The Odyssey). Tommy gets a call in the middle of the night from one of his college friends. Oliver got shot and needs his help.
> 
> I'm going to put the order of these fics up here because some people are still confused :) So, this is chronological order:
> 
> Ch. 3  
> Ch. 4  
> Ch. 2  
> Ch. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! More Dr. Merlyn! This is 1x14 + Dr. Merlyn, meaning Tommy gets a call when his sort-of ex-best-friend gets shot by his own mother! This is after Ch. 3, meaning Tommy knows Oliver's secret and is still mad at him. But, it's before chapter one and two.
> 
> The title is a quote from 'The Odyssey,' which is a fun homage to the episode title.

Tommy collapsed on to his couch, sinking into the cushions with a deep sigh. Laurel had been kidnapped by Cyrus Vanch last week and things were beginning to return to normal. Laurel, of course, was soldiering on as if nothing happened but Tommy had a harder time adjusting. He and Lance actually managed to put aside their differences for a few days for Laurel, but that wasn’t going to last forever.

He had a night off and Laurel insisted he go and enjoy it. She had to stay late at CNRI anyway. Tommy offered to bring her a late-night snack, but she wasn’t having it. _‘I don’t need you to check up on me, Tommy. I’ll be fine. Promise!’_

Tommy had heard the laughter in her voice and laughed along, but he was still a little bit worried. She’d been kidnapped, after all.

Just then, his phone rang. He grinned when he saw the familiar picture flash on the screen.

“Hey, Smoaky!” he said when he answered, unable to keep a smile off his face. They met in Boston when she was at MIT and he was in medical school. He preferred MIT’s libraries because being surrounded by other frantic studies studying biology as hurriedly as he was had stressed him out. He and Felicity had started a silent friendship that didn’t go beyond the table they shared in the library.

Then, he saw her at a rowdy bar downtown and a friendship was born. How was Tommy Merlyn supposed to resist friendship with a sixteen-year-old college girl getting into his favorite bar with the best fake ID he’d ever seen?

They met up occasionally since she moved to Starling, but they were both busy. He didn’t like how she ran herself ragged at his… ex-best-friend’s company, but he couldn’t say much. Being a doctor wasn’t exactly an easy job, either.

“I need your help,” she said, sounding breathless and scared. He was instantly on edge. The last time he’d heard her sound anything like this was when everything went to shit with Cooper. Also, he didn’t return his use of her nickname with her use of his, so he knew something had to be wrong.

Tommy got to his feet and shoved them into the first shoes he saw.

“I’m already on my way. Where? What’s wrong?”

“… Verdant’s basement? And it’s not me. It’s Oliver.”

Tommy froze, just for a moment, but then he was moving again. Felicity was still speaking – rambling, really, probably trying to drive and talk at the same time – but he was still trying to process what he learned before Christmas. His best friend was the vigilante. Tommy hadn’t spoken to Oliver since the night he’d saved his life.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

 

* * *

 

Tommy was still angry, but there were too many emotions and too much history between him and Oliver to just let him die.

He burst into Verdant’s “flooded” basement, taking in the obvious vigilante lair without stopping until he was by the table with his best friend lying on it.

Felicity stood with John Diggle, both of them moving quickly and hovering over Oliver. Of course, the bodyguard was in on it.

He would be angry about that later, along with Oliver obviously sucking in an innocent girl like Felicity, but for now he was in doctor mode and he had a job to do.

“Talk to me,” he said to neither of them in particular, putting on his gloves, taking out his tools and getting to work.

“Gunshot wound. We were just about to find the source of the bleeding. His BP is too low and he’s losing a lot of blood,” Diggle said. His voice was steady and his eyes were trained on Tommy. If he hadn’t already known the man was a soldier, he would now. He was obviously cool in the midst of a crisis, his hands were steady on his crossed arms, and he looked ready to do whatever Tommy asked of him.

Tommy got to work. His eyes skipped straight over the scars and tattoos that had given him such pause the first time. He was a doctor and someone was bleeding out under his hands. There were oaths about this kind of thing.

Whenever he held out his hand for anything, Diggle or Felicity was there to hand it to them. Apparently, Oliver kept a stock of his own blood in the basement so Tommy didn’t have to worry too much about how much blood his friend had lost except in the respect of him not losing more.

A loud beeping shattered the tense atmosphere and Oliver started to seize. “Shit! He’s coding!” Tommy yelled, looking around for a defibrillator.

Diggle was already wheeling one over. “Clear!” Tommy shouted, letting the paddles charge before putting them on to his friend’s bare and bleeding chest.

Nothing happened.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Tommy said, looking at the paddles like they’re betrayed him.

“I can fix it!” Felicity exclaimed, already poking around in the guts of the machine. “I heard it charge, so it’s probably the wires. I’m good at wires.”

Tommy recalled the genius-level things he’d seen her do in college and was more than inclined to agree.

After a second, she looked up. “Try again.”

He did, and this time it worked. The heart monitor registered a steady beat and Tommy sighed, putting the paddles away.

“I’m almost done,” he said and went back to cleaning up the dried blood and finishing off the stitches.

Once his work was done, he sighed and mentally prepared for a long night and watching over his patient. He was mad at Oliver, but he didn’t want him to _die_. He still had to decide whether or not he was going to forgive Oliver.

“I know you’re busy, Tommy. You don’t have to stay,” Felicity said, but she was already gathering chairs for the three of them to sit in near Oliver.

Tommy shook his head. “I worked a half shift today and I have the day off tomorrow. What happened?” he asked, looking at the two people that were making a circle with him.

Diggle looked to Felicity and the little blonde took a deep breath before beginning.

“I was at work late” – no surprise there – “and when I got out to my car he was bleeding out in the backseat. He revealed himself to me… Oh my gosh, not like that! I swear, he almost died and I just can’t think of the right way to say anything – ”

“Felicity,” Tommy said, his tone soft but insistent. Her rambles were so very _her_ , but they really didn’t have time for one tonight.

“Right,” she said, shaking her head like that would clear away the stray thoughts. “Anyway, I already kind of suspected what was going on, but then he took his hood off and I knew. He asked me to bring him here instead of the hospital. I didn’t know Mr. Diggle would be here, just ‘a friend,’ but he passed out and the first person I thought of was you.”

Felicity looked up at Tommy then, her blue eyes wide and a little nervous. She knew Tommy hadn’t spoken to Oliver since before Christmas, but she also knew that he wouldn’t let his best friend die. A little bit of deductive magic led her to believe that Tommy had found out Oliver’s not-so-little green secret when he’d gone to the hospital after his confrontation with the Dark Archer. The ensuing sub-zero temperatures between the two previous best friends only solidified that hunch.

Tommy sighed and ran his hands over his face. “You were right to call me. I found out about this before Christmas and I’ve been too angry to really decide how I feel,” he said, and then he turned to Felicity. “He shouldn’t have come to you. What the hell was he thinking?”

What was Oliver thinking, dragging Felicity into something like this? She’d been through enough shit as it was. She shouldn’t have to work even more than she already did to help Oliver with his murder mission. He’d figured out that’s what his friend was doing when he realized Oliver was the vigilante. Felicity’s stories about Oliver’s stupid excuses that came before he asked a favor made so much more sense after that.

He hadn’t exactly meant to say all that, but he was facing the consequences now. Felicity sat up, throwing her shoulders back and levelling a glare at her friend. “I’m a big girl, Merlyn. _I_ decided to help him despite the lies and _I_ decided to trust him tonight and bring him here,” she said, her tone low and firm.

“You know what he does, Felicity! If you suspected, why did you help him?” he exclaimed, unable to stop himself from yelling. Then, he turned to Diggle. “You’re a soldier. You were in a _war_. How can you support Oliver when he goes out and murders people every night?”

Felicity puffed up even bigger, like an angry bird, but it was Diggle who answered first. “I don’t agree with what he’s doing but someone has to watch his back. If he’s alone in this, he’ll lose himself. I’ve seen it too many times,” he said and then turned to Felicity. Though the two hadn’t spent a lot of time around each other, Tommy could see a bond between the two already.

“He’s not making the best choices right now, but there’s so much… potential. Oliver could be so much _more_ than ‘the Hood’ or ‘the Vigilante.’ He just needs people to believe in him,” she said, her anger deflating a little as she spoke but she never lost her passion. Her blue eyes were huge behind her glasses where they flicked between Oliver on the med table and Tommy.

“So I’m supposed to support Oliver – my friend who’s been lying to my ever since he came back from the dead – because despite the fact that he’s _murdering_ people in the streets he has the _potential_ to do good in this city?” Tommy asked, not able to forgive his ex-best-friend’s actions as easily as the soldier and IT girl. “What if he doesn’t? What if he stays like this and the next people on his kill list are you or Laurel or Thea or _me_? I don’t know if I can forgive him because he _might_ do better.”

“He needs people in his corner,” Diggle said. His tone was sharper than before, but his dark eyes were steady and nonjudgmental. “Without support and people to ground him, that potential is going to die and he _is_ going to become the monster you’re afraid of.”

“And he would _never_ hurt you or Thea or Laurel or _anyone_ he cares about. He loves you guys so much, even if he has a funny way of showing it,” Felicity said, just as passionate and insistent as she’d been at the start.

Tommy sat back and shook his head with a sigh. Obviously, they believed what they believed and he wasn’t going to change their mind. Well, they weren’t going to change his just yet either.

“Why is he doing this?” Tommy asked after a long silence, looking around at the dark, dingy lair that he never knew was under the club.

Felicity was silent, looking at Diggle just like he was, and Tommy wondered where all her conviction came from if she didn’t even know why Oliver was doing any of this.

The man sighed. “It’s not my place to say. I’ll let him explain when he wakes up.”

 

* * *

 

“I guess I didn’t die again. Cool.”

That statement made Tommy just as livid as Felicity looked.

“Cool? _Cool?_ You almost died and the only thing you can say is _cool?!”_

Oliver jerked then, his surprised eyes landing on his best friend. Obviously, he hadn’t noticed Tommy was there. Well, he definitely did now.

“You called him?” Oliver asked Felicity, turning his ire on the blonde, and Tommy wasn’t having that.

“Of course she did, Ollie! You’re supposed to call a medical professional when you get a fucking _mortal wound_! You shouldn’t have put her in a position where she had to make that choice!”

“Digg could’ve handled it,” Oliver said, turning back to Tommy. He’d wanted to avoid fighting with his ex-friend, but it seemed that the doctor didn’t want the same thing.

Diggle was standing near Oliver, looking at him critically, but at that comment he shook his head. “Maybe, man, but leave me out of this. I’m just happy Felicity is friends with an actual doctor,” he said, motioning between the two dueling friends.

Like that was anything he should be worrying about, Oliver narrowed his eyes and looked between Tommy and Felicity. “You two know each other?” he asked. Tommy couldn’t quite place the tone of his voice, which was weird. There was a time when Tommy would’ve said he knew Oliver better than his friend knew himself.

“That’s the _least_ important thing we need to talk about right now. Not that you’re not important, Smoaky,” he said, grinning at his friend for a moment before looking back at Oliver. “You’re the one who needs to get talking.”

“Obviously, Bandit,” Felicity said, grinning at Tommy before the expression fell and she turned back to the vigilante.

Oliver sighed and sat up like he hadn’t just been shot in the shoulder. It seemed like he was purposefully ignoring the obvious friendship between Tommy and Felicity. “It’s a long story,” he said, speaking to both of them but only looking at Tommy.

The doctor was a little surprised. The look in Oliver’s eyes was more vulnerable than Tommy had seen since his friend came back from the dead. There was a mix of hope, fear and wariness, like he expected Tommy to spurn him and storm away. As angry as he was, Tommy had realized when he stormed into the basement and saw his best friend bleeding out that he at _least_ wanted to hear Oliver out.

Tommy sat down. Felicity sat beside him. “We’re listening.”

 

* * *

 

It was… a lot. Tommy knew that Oliver hadn’t told them the whole story. Five years away couldn’t be summarized in a ten-minute story. But, Tommy was shocked to realize he didn’t mind too much. Asking for the entire story at once would’ve been too much. He did a psych rotation in med school, after all. Forcing someone to relive trauma wasn’t productive. Or nice.

The little Oliver did tell was… a lot. Robert Queen hadn’t died when the _Queen’s Gambit_ went down. He’d shot himself in the life raft so Oliver would survive, but not before he gave his son a notebook and the cryptic command of ‘right my wrongs.’

Tommy still didn’t really accept what he was doing like Diggle and Felicity seemed to, but she understood a little bit better. Five years of trauma could manifest in a lot of different ways, and Tommy supposed he was happy that his friend wasn’t turning all that rage onto himself. And whether or not it was any consolation, at least he was only killing corrupt people.

There was a lot to process. Preferably over a bottle of whiskey. “Well, you’re obviously alive, so I’m gonna go,” Tommy said, standing up and grabbing his stuff. “You coming, Felicity?”

The IT girl looked like she had more to say. She was biting her lip and looking at Oliver like she’d just decided something and no one – not even the Starling City Vigilante – was going to be able to change her mind. After six years of friendship, Tommy had learned to fear that expression.

“No. I have my car. I just have a few things I want to talk to Oliver about,” she said, smiling up at Tommy. “Lunch tomorrow? Or are you doing something with Laurel?”

Oliver’s face did weird things at the mention of Laurel. Tommy chose to ignore that.

“No, she’s been working nonstop on some case she can’t talk about,” Tommy said, rubbing the back of his neck to try and work out the kinks he’d gotten from operating on his friend and then waiting for said friend to wake up. “I’ll see you on your break.”

Felicity nodded and Tommy walked toward the door. He paused by Oliver, hesitating for a moment before laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Next time you get shot, just call me. It’ll save time. And don’t wait until you’re bleeding out and about to be unconscious,” he said, offering an olive branch. It wasn’t forgiveness, but Tommy was willing to at least try and move forward. Hating Oliver was hard and despite how different he was now, Tommy missed his best friend. And, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that he was different. Tommy certainly wasn’t the same person he was five years ago, either.

Oliver looked up at Tommy, a delicate, fragile hope in his eyes. “Will do,” he said.

Tommy patted Oliver’s shoulder, nodded, and left.

There was still a long way to go to mend things between them, but they’d both taken the first, tentative steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Reconciliation is on the horizon. If you have any prompt ideas, leave me a comment or come check out my Tumblr and talk to me there! Leave me a kudos, if you don't mind. They make my day.


	5. Don't Make a Habit of This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many people requested this! Pregnant Felicity giving birth and Tommy's the only one around. There's kidnapping. Excitement. Touching moments. Oh my!

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

“ _You_ can’t believe this is happening? _I’m_ the pregnant one!”

“I know, Felicity! That doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be incredulous that we got kidnapped and I’m pretty sure you’re going into labor!”

“Wow, word of the day, Tommy? Incredulous? Also, you’re a doctor! Aren’t you used to stuff like this?”

Tommy ran a hand through his hair, thankful they hadn’t been bound in their captivity. At least, this way, he could help his best friend’s wife through the birth of their first child. They were both kidnapped, but things _could_ be worse.

They’d been hanging out. It was Tommy’s day off and Felicity had been banned from all non-essential activities upon entering the last month of her pregnancy. She still went to the Arrow Cave, of course. When she first got pregnant, Tommy had been witness to the fight. Well, it wasn’t a fight so much as Felicity declared she wouldn’t be going into the field but she wasn’t going to stop helping her team. Oliver had tried to argue, but a well-placed glare and a _‘You know you can’t do this without me’_ silenced everyone’s objections.

Once Felicity went on maternity leave, Tommy started spending more time with her when he was off duty. Laurel usually joined them. She had just found out she was pregnant a few weeks ago and was happy to have a mentor in Felicity.

 _Pregnant_. Tommy almost couldn’t believe it. He and Laurel were going to have a _baby_. When he got over the initial shock maybe he’d be more afraid of turning out like his father, but for now he was just overjoyed. He didn’t care that he had to run to the store in the middle of the night because Laurel just _had_ to have fried chicken to dip into her peanut butter.

Oliver had smirked a lot and made fun of Tommy in the same way he’d made fun of his best friend several months before when everyone found out Felicity was pregnant. Tommy couldn’t even bring himself to care. He probably had the same moony, adoring look Oliver still got on his face when he looked at his wife.

If he had time, he would’ve reminisced about the past and how he and Oliver were both happily married with children on the way.

Unfortunately, they were both currently kidnapped and Felicity’s water had just broken several minutes before.

“I’m a trauma surgeon, Felicity! I haven’t helped deliver a baby since I was an intern and I’ve never done it by myself in a dingy room in a warehouse with no medical equipment!”

"Well at least you've done this! I've never had a baby before and I get to do it in a dingy, gross warehouse while being kidnapped!"

"Are we seriously playing who has it worse right now? We were both kidnapped! It's not my fault your husband's political enemies are both extremely well-funded and extremely stupid!"

She bit her lip and her eyes welled up and Tommy immediately felt like a dick. “Don’t yell at me!” she exclaimed. Suddenly, she was sobbing from her place on the floor. Tommy immediately crouched down in front of her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m scared and kidnapped and these may be baby labor pains but they hurt like a _bitch_ and _I had a birth plan_ and it didn’t involve being kidnapped and Oliver is supposed to be there!”

Tommy immediately sat down, pulling his friend into his arms and comforting her as she cried. His wasn’t the set of arms he knew she wanted, but they’d have to do. “I’m sorry I yelled. I’m scared too, Felicity, but trust me when I say that I’m going to do everything I can for you and your baby. He’s got his mother’s excellent sense of timing and decided he wants to come now,” he said, keeping his voice soothing but firm. Felicity needed someone to take charge right now and be strong for her, and he was the only option. Besides, he _was_ a doctor. The situation wasn’t the best, but if she had to be kidnapped with anyone it was probably best from a medical standpoint that it was him.

They had been so stupid. The only reason Tommy thought they'd been kidnapped at all was because Felicity's self-defense trainer had been put on the back burner while she was pregnant and all the moves she already knew were weighted for someone who didn't have a watermelon-sized human in their uterus. Tommy knew the basics, but when it came down to the bad guys grabbing Felicity, pointing a gun at her swollen stomach and saying 'get in the van' with a heavily-implied 'or else,' there wasn't much to be done.

Tommy and Felicity had been hanging out, just doing normal-person things and having a good time. Felicity was set to go into the Foundry later that night and Tommy had a few days off because they had a few extra staff members because of some overflow from Glades Memorial. When the pregnant lady saw she was out of the ice-cream and hot dogs the baby was so _desperate_ to put together, they made a run to the nearest corner store. They still lived in the loft - though it was baby-proofed now - so they'd walked.

Before they even got there, a van had pulled up and some H.I.V.E. goons had gotten out. Darhk was in prison, but that didn't mean the entire evil organization was gone. Team Green Arrow was making good headway, but they weren't done yet. Then, a la Ruvé Adams, the super-secret evil organization had put up someone to challenge Oliver politically since he was dominating the mayoral game in Star City. It wasn't working as well as they probably hoped. Tommy assumed that was why they'd gone with a kidnapping.

Tommy had to admit he was surprised they weren't being tortured or bound or...physically put out in some way. He tried very, _very_ hard not to think about the fact that his father was now the head of H.I.V.E. Surely that had nothing to do with it. Malcolm Merlyn was not his father and the man always conveniently forgot he even had a son.

They only sat like that for a few minutes, but Tommy could feel the tremors going through her body whenever she had a contraction. They were getting closer together. _Fast_.

“Felicity, I think your son is coming. Right now,” he said, moving away from her and going to her feet.

She’d already taken off her pants since her water broke. Tommy was a professional and it was nothing he hadn’t seen a million times over. It wasn’t even the first time he’d seen Felicity almost naked. He’d been the one to operate on her after the attack on the limo a few years before.

If he pretended they were in a hospital and she was a patient, he could do this.

“What?” she asked. Her voice was small and scared and so unlike how she usually sounded. “Isn’t it supposed to take, like… a long time? Hours?”

Tommy shrugged, pulling off her underwear with clinical hands. “Usually. The first kid usually takes even longer. But, it seems like this child is more yours than Ollie’s because you’re already ten centimeters dilated. You’re feeling the contractions, right? They’ve got to be almost constant now,” he said, looking up at her face.

She nodded, her face contorted in pain and fear. Normally, she was the one looking after everyone else. She was Overwatch, guiding her team and making sure they were as safe as they could be in the field. Well, today Overwatch was gone. Felicity was a mother about to have her first child during a kidnapping. Tommy took a deep breath and put on his best doctor face.

“Come here,” Tommy said. He helped her stand and waddle to the stool in the corner. It was the only furniture. “Most women have children lying down, but that’s not actually the easiest way. If you want, I’ll tell you the story behind it later. Anyway, it’s easiest to have a baby while you’re vertical so gravity can help you out. In this case, I think it’s best to try this way.”

Felicity sat at the edge of the stool and gripped the edge. Her blue eyes were wide and scared behind her glasses, but Tommy could see the trust in them when she nodded. He crouched in front of her and gripped her arms, keeping his eyes on hers. “I’m right here. I’ll be here the whole time. I’m not Ollie, but I’ve done this before and I’m going to help you through it. You’re not alone,” he said, using his firm but kind voice. It was slightly less professional than the one he used on patients, but Felicity was his friend first.

She nodded, smiling just a little through the pain.

Just then they heard a hail of gunfire and Felicity jumped, staring at the door.

“Hey!” Tommy said, bringing her attention back to him. “There’s the cavalry. Ollie’s doing his job. Now you have to do yours, okay? I’m here. Ollie will be here soon. Your baby is coming _now_. Focus on what’s happening right here, okay? Your baby needs you to push… _now_.”

Felicity was a helper by nature. Obviously. She took care of an entire team of vigilantes every night. The best way to get her to focus on delivering her baby was telling her that her baby needed her to focus entirely on him just then. It was true, after all.

Tommy went into doctor mode. He ignored the sounds of a struggle outside and focused entirely on Felicity. The only thing that broke through the haze was when the door to their room burst open. He couldn’t even move because he was trying to encourage Felicity to keep pushing.

“Oliver!” she called and Tommy didn’t even spare a glance over his shoulder.

“Come on, buddy! You’re about to be a dad!”

The police were probably on their way. They’d literally just been rescued by some annoyingly amateur kidnappers trying to get the Green Arrow off the streets. Nothing about this situation was a stop-and-enjoying-the-moment thing, but Oliver hit his knees beside Tommy, took off his gloves and mask, and immediately grabbed his wife’s hand.

He’d missed out on getting his hand crushed and Felicity's Loud Voice - amplified by pain unaided by drugs - making his ears bleed, but at least he showed up before it was all over.

They were talking. Murmuring words of love and affirmation to each other. Tommy was focused on the tiny human entering the world.

With one final push, his best friends’ son entered the world with a loud, piercing wail.

“Here he is!” Tommy said, holding out his hand until someone put a cloth in it. It was someone’s shirt or something, but he wasn’t even paying attention. He immediately rubbed the nasty goo off the infant, making him cry even louder and harder.

“He has his mom’s Loud Voice,” Oliver said, sounding a bit choked up and awed. Tommy looked up and saw tears in both their eyes.

“Wanna cut the cord, dad?” Tommy asked. Sure, the military-grade knife that was part of Oliver’s arsenal wasn’t the best, but Tommy knew it was clean and they’d be able to take care of the little guy until they got him and his mom to a hospital.

Once that was done – Tommy’s hands guiding Oliver’s because he was so unsure around this small, new life and his hands were shaking – he put the tiny bundle into Felicity’s arms. The new parents were curled around each other staring at the little thing. Tommy had a sudden flash that this was going to be his life in seven months and had to ground himself in the moment with a deep breath.

“So, did you decide on a name?” he asked. The couple had been struggling with what to call him.

Felicity and Oliver looked at each other. It was a moment of pure, unspoken communication.

Felicity grinned at Tommy. “Well, we were going to call him Connor Robert Queen,” she said.

Tommy nodded. “That’s a great name, guys,” he said with a happy smile.

Oliver joined in the smiling. It was a huge smile that seemed like it was going to split his face in half. “Well, seeing at things have… changed a little, we changed our minds,” he said, looking up from his son to his best friend. “What do you think of Connor Thomas Queen?”

Tommy’s eyes went wide and he froze. After a moment, he smiled even wider and ignored his misty eyes. “I’d be honored but… are you sure?” he asked, staring at two of his best friends.

Felicity laughed. “You just helped me deliver my first child in the middle of a warehouse when we were both kidnapped. If this baby is to be named after anyone, you’re definitely first in line,” she said. Oliver nodded. He didn’t laugh, but the huge smile on his face was the Ollie equivalent to the expression.

Tommy laughed, too. “Then, I’m honored. Little guy’s got a great name,” he said, glancing down at his nephew – they’d already told him he and Laurel were going to be godparents, but Tommy had also dubbed them Uncle Tommy and Aunt Laurel – before shooting a look back to Felicity. “Just, _please_ , don’t make a habit of this.”

Felicity and Oliver laughed. “Trust me,” Felicity said, looking down at her son. “This is going to be the only time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Leave me a comment and kudo! Prompt me in this verse if you want on my Tumblr: imusuallyobsessed.


	6. The Right Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's finally a surgeon. His hours have been hectic and he's barely had any time to spend with his fiancee - Laurel Lance. On his first night off in two weeks, Oliver goes and gets himself hurt.
> 
> Original Prompt - @geniewithwifi: I want something with Oliver getting injured and Tommy having to fix him while Felicity is using Oliver as her personal punching bag because O did something REALLY STUPID

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Need some fluff after 4x18? Me, too! Here, have a vaguely ambiguous early S4 scene! Thanks to geniewithwifi for suggesting this scene.
> 
> Also, I'm 1 follower away from 200 on Tumblr, so think of this as an early thank you! If any one of you wants to be that 200th follower... head over to my Tumblr. Same name as here.

Tommy went into the Arrowcave with a sigh, hearing the raised voices – really, one voice – and sounds of a heated dressing-down before he even got off the elevator. The secret lair being under Oliver’s campaign office was smart, but if Felicity kept it up at that volume then it wouldn’t be so secret anymore. At least everyone was gone for the day.

“Hey, guys,” he said as brightly as he could as soon as he stepped off the elevator, his doctor bag in hand and a smile in place. Yeah, it was his first day off in two weeks and he was spending it patching up his idiotic vigilante best friend, but there was a silver lining. At least Ollie wasn’t dead. Or, not yet. Felicity sounded pretty angry.

“Hey, Tommy,” Felicity said, pausing her tirade to smile and meet him halfway to the medical area with a hug.

They parted and Laurel was right behind Felicity with a light kiss. “Hey, babe,” she murmured, turning to walk back to the med area with him and Felicity.

“What did he do this time?” Tommy asked, setting his bag on the metal table and turning a clinical eye to his friend. Multiple lacerations, bruising, he was holding himself like his ribs hurt, there was an ice pack on his bad knee, and he was holding his arm at an odd angle.

Oliver sighed and rolled his eyes. “I crashed my motorcycle. It _happens_ , Felicity. It doesn’t mean – ”

“That’s not even the best part,” Felicity snapped, looking from her boyfriend to her friend. “Tell Tommy _why_ you crashed your motorcycle, honey.”

Oliver gave his girlfriend a pained look, but sighed in the face of her obstinate expression. “I was texting – ”

“My _mother_!” Felicity interrupted, smacking Oliver’s arm. Her cheeks were turning red and if looks could kill, Oliver would look even worse than he already did. “You were texting my _mother_ when you were out on a _mission_!” Every word was punctuated with a smack to Oliver’s arm.

“Please refrain from hitting the patient,” Tommy said, and if Felicity hadn’t crossed her arms he would’ve assumed she hadn’t heard him for all she acknowledged what he said.

“I felt bad about not responding! She was using those emojis – ”

“You’re the _Green Arrow_ , Oliver! You were on a mission – don’t interrupt me!” she snapped when he opened his mouth. “I don’t care if you were on your way back! The mission isn’t over until suits are off. Team rules. Also, texting and driving is dangerous! I don’t care how amazing your reflexes are, you aren’t a metahuman!”

Tommy was a surgeon, not a therapist, so instead of commenting he got to work.

Aside from occasionally complying to Tommy’s requests – flex your hand, bend this way, stretch your leg – Oliver gave all his attention to his girlfriend and withstood the verbal lashing with only mild pouting.

Tommy and Laurel carried on a quieter conversation from her place on the other side of Oliver. It was much calmer.

“I know it’s late, but do you want to do something for dinner?” she asked, watching his hands move over Oliver’s injuries with curiosity. She always said she liked watching him work – when it wasn’t a life or death situation, of course. Or him giving her stitches.

“You mean, do I want to cook dinner for us?” he asked, grinning up at her for a moment.

Laurel stuck her tongue out at him but smiled back. “Way to call me out, Merlyn,” she said. “But, yeah, I guess. We’ve just both been so busy lately with you getting used to your new rotations and I’m trying to bust Darhk by day _and_ night.” She didn’t step closer but her eyes warmed and her smile softened. “I miss you.”

Tommy paused to lean over and kiss his fiancée. Felicity and Oliver didn’t even pause in their own argument. They probably hadn’t even noticed he’d stopped for a moment.

“I’ll make dinner,” he said before resuming his work. “Any special requests?”

“ _I_ have one!” Felicity interjected. Tommy turned to look at her, his eyes wide, and was shocked to see tears gathering in her eyes. “How about _you_ try and convince my boyfriend that he’s an idiot?” With that, Felicity stormed back to her computer platform and sat down roughly with her back to the medical area.

Oliver stared after her like a kicked puppy, his blue eyes wide and mournful like everything was ruined and he didn’t know how to fix it.

Tommy sighed and looked over at Laurel. She nodded and moved away, leaving the two friends to talk.

Tommy worked in silence, giving Oliver some time to settle after his argument with Felicity.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” he asked, his tone rough and confrontational but his eyes were still sad where they looked across the room.

“Your knee is so fucked up I’m surprised you can still walk, buddy. You’ve really gotta take it easy. No vigilante behavior for a week, _minimum_ ,” he said, adopting his doctor voice and speaking over Oliver when his friend tried to interrupt. “No, that’s my time calculated with your freakishly fast healing and magical island weeds – don’t say _they’re_ _herbs_ , listen to the doctor – in mind. I _know_ you, Ollie. I’m not some random ER doctor. You have to _listen_ to me.”

Oliver looked mutinous, but Tommy knew that even his vigilante best friend wasn’t an idiot and if he got Felicity on his side, Oliver didn’t stand a chance.

“You’re not going to be able to do this for much longer if you don’t let your body heal. I think your right radius or ulna is cracked, but I can’t know without an x-ray. The lacerations will heal nicely. I only had to put stitches in two of them. Your ribs are _badly_ bruised. Rest them for the week, too,” he said, then he raised his voice. “That means no overly enthusiastic adult time, Ollie. _Felicity_.”

Yeah, Tommy knew who the guilty party was.

Oliver looked even more frustrated now and his cheeks were tinged with embarrassment. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Felicity was stiff in her seat and the small bit of her face that Tommy could see was bright red.

Tommy grinned and looked back at his friend.

“That’s not what I meant,” Oliver grumbled, looking down at Tommy’s hands as the doctor gently covered his stitches with gauze.

Tommy sighed, moving on to taping Oliver’s ribs. “I know, buddy,” he said, quieter now. “I understand that you thought you could handle the situation. The mission was technically over and you were on your way home. But, Felicity’s right, too. The mission isn’t over until all the costumes are off. Your head wasn’t in the game and it could’ve killed you. You’re _so_ lucky, Ollie, that these injuries aren’t worse.”

He’d caught a bit of what happened from the heated argument that had taken place beside him. Oliver had swerved a little too far on a turn – just for an instant – and he was in oncoming traffic. He overcorrected and got clipped by another car, sending the motorcycle spinning out with Oliver half-trapped underneath. The leather had protected a lot of his skin, but the new suit didn’t have as much coverage.

“I know,” Oliver sighed, looking back at Felicity over Tommy’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” Tommy said, finishing up the tape on Oliver’s ribs and leaning back. “She won’t stay mad for long. She’s just worried and scared. Once you both get home, she won’t be able to stop fussing.”

It was true. Felicity was the surprising mother hen of Team Arrow. It wasn’t too obvious on a daily basis. Her love was shown through small gestures – making sure the communal fridge was stocked with everyone’s favorite snacks, helping Thea out of her boots, always having a makeup wipe ready for everyone with greasepaint – but when a member of the team was injured, she mothered in full force.

Tommy still remembered two years ago – when he was still trying to forgive Laurel and Oliver had just come back from his self-imposed exile on Lian Yu post-Undertaking – when he got hurt during an ER shift. There had been an outbreak of gang violence in the Glades on night and Glades Memorial hadn’t been able to handle it all, so they sent the overflow to Starling General. He’d gotten punched in the jaw twice and the gut more times than he wanted to remember trying to break up a fight that had broken out in the ER hallways.

Felicity had brought him home to her apartment after he got treated and wouldn’t let him leave for a week. He hadn’t minded much, though. In the wake of everything that had happened back then, it was nice to know someone cared that much.

Oliver sighed again, getting that warm, lovesick look in his eyes as he continued to stare at his girlfriend. Tommy was reminded again that Oliver was supposed to propose way before now. He’d called Tommy a few days before he was going to do it, freaking out and needing his best friend to tell him that everything was going to be fine and she was _definitely_ going to say yes.

He hadn’t known that Thea and Laurel were going to get them until they were already almost there or he would’ve warned Oliver. Turns out, they’d interrupted the moment. He said he hadn’t found the right time since then, but Tommy didn’t buy that.

“Just propose to her already,” he murmured, making a show of putting his things back in his bag. “I swear, basically everyone already knows Thea and Laurel interrupted something except Felicity.”

Oliver looked slightly panicked, but Tommy knew it wasn’t at the thought of marrying Felicity. He just didn’t want her to find out about his plans before he could think of the perfect proposal.

“It’s not the right time, Tommy.”

The doctor fixed a look on his vigilante best friend. “There’s no such thing as the _right time_ , Oliver. Our lives are literally insane. You could’ve died tonight over an emoji and Felicity wouldn’t have ever gotten the chance to hear you propose to her – to know that you’re ready to make a life-long commitment to her. _Ask her_ , buddy. No matter the timing, I swear she’ll say yes,” he said, tilting his head when he picked up his bag. “Think about it. Waiting is pointless.”

Tommy left his friend sitting pensively on the metal table, staring at the love of his life while she whirled around her computer station.

He met Laurel at the bottom of the platform, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth as they walked out of the Arrowcave hand-in-hand.

“Italian or Thai for dinner?” Tommy asked his fiancée as the elevator doors closed, thinking of the ingredients he had in the fridge.

Laurel sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. “Italian. And don’t think I didn’t see you with your advice-giving face on. You’re not allowed to use your best-friend influence to win the pool,” she grumbled, looking up at Tommy with cross but affectionate eyes.

Tommy grinned, walking out of the elevator once it opened. “It’s not manipulation, honey. It’s encouragement.”

“Semantics.”

“Oh, lawyer talk, counselor? You know how I feel about that.”

“Later, babe. I’m starving. Oh, don’t pout,” she said, going up on her toes and kissing his cheek. “I promise once dinner is over I’ll do that thing you really like…”

Tommy might have sped home, but he wasn’t ashamed to admit how much he loved that thing Laurel did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy enough? Merlance is alive and well and together! I've been hesitant to write them together because I saw so little of them on screen. I skipped a lot of S1. But if I can write Tommy and Laurel separately, surely I can write them together!
> 
> What did you guys think? Drop me a comment and a kudo and head over to my Tumblr (same name) and chat with me! I love hearing from you guys.


	7. Past, Present, Future (4x10)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of 4x09, Dr. Tommy Merlyn is the only trauma surgeon working the graveyard shift at Starling General. He's just watch his best friend propose to the love of his life, and now he has to try and save her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been highly requested! Tommy is Felicity's surgeon during the events after 4x09. It kind of got away from me, to be honest. It started out angsty and then got mad and then got fluffy at the end? Idk, just read it!
> 
> I literally threw this together in less than twelve hours. I haven't read it over and I have no beta, so please forgive any mistakes!

Tommy thought, for once, the day was going to end well.

Oliver finally proposed to Felicity, on television in front of a lit Christmas tree like the hopeless romantic he’d become since he’d walked into the cubicle of a certain IT girl. Tommy could hardly believe it, but then again the rings on his and Laurel’s left hands told the same story.

He’d known, of course. Oliver had told Tommy about his plans to propose to Felicity in Ivy Town. He’d done everything in his power to keep Thea and Laurel from going, but in the end he couldn’t reveal why and so they went anyway. When Tommy heard Oliver had missed proposing by mere moments, he felt crushing disappointment.

Sometimes he thought he was too invested in his best friend’s love life. Then, he remembered the years lost at sea and even more years of emotional constipation, shrugged, and went on talking about “Olicity” with Thea and Diggle when no one else was around.

The entire city and a good bit of the country was invested in Oliver and Felicity, to be honest. There were posts across every social media platform Tommy knew about concerning them, and even a few stories of which he’d only read the first few words before he decided he really didn’t need to know how anonymous internet users thought his best friend had sex.

In the end, though, it was worth it. They were finally ready to be together, and the universe presented the right moment. Felicity had processed her feelings about her dad leaving and they’d weathered their first big fight together. When Oliver admitted during a call with Tommy that the only thing they’d argued about in their months away was wet towels on the bed, he’d rolled his eyes and snorted. _Just wait, buddy,_ he’d said, popping open another beer and tipping it to the sky as if toasting the universe.

Oliver had followed suit. After their big fight when Donna was in town and he’d left to give her “space,” he’d shown up at Tommy’s with desperate eyes. They’d weathered the storm together.

Then, Oliver said he was going to propose again. Felicity had confronted him at the holiday party for his campaign, and he realized she was right. In their lives, waiting was pointless. Tommy had been beyond excited.

He had the night shift that day, of course, but he’d told the director of surgery that he was going to be late because he had to watch his friend propose to the love of his life. Thankfully, Dr. Thompson understood. He suspected she secretly shipped Olicity, too. Everyone in Star City was rooting for them.

As soon as he was walking down the halls in his maroon scrubs, he heard everyone erupt into chatter and saw them gathering around TVs. Deciding he could take a moment, Tommy paused and read the closed captioning of Star City Tonight.

“Mayoral candidate Oliver Queen had just proposed to his girlfriend, Felicity Smoak, when their limousine was ambushed by several men we’ve been calling Ghosts with semi-automatic weapons. Reports say Mr. Queen is unharmed, but Ms. Smoak was rushed to Starling General with several gunshot wounds and is said to be in critical condition—”

Tommy was already running to the emergency rooms when his pager went off, and he thanked every scheduling deity that he was the only trauma surgeon on staff tonight. Wednesdays weren’t usually too hectic, so the hospital usually got by with one specialist.

He ran to the indicated OR and started to scrub in faster than he ever had before, his eyes hardly able to tear themselves away from the small blonde in the room beyond the glass. That was Felicity Smoak lying there. Indomitable, optimistic to a fault, with a smile for everyone. She’d faced down Slade Wilson, a man-made earthquake engineered by his psycho father, a crazy cult who’d kidnapped her, a literal league of assassins, and so much more that Tommy probably didn’t know about. It seemed unfathomable that a few bullets from some Ghosts had put her in this position.

Before he’d even finished washing his hands, Dr. Thompson rushed in. She was the only other person in the hospital Tommy would want doing this surgery, but he knew there was no way he’d put one of his best friend’s lives in someone else’s hands.

Dr. Monique Thompson was tall, elegant, and aging more gracefully than anyone Tommy had ever seen. She had a specialization in brain surgery before becoming the chief of surgery at Starling General, arguably one of the most difficult, busiest hospitals in the country. She wasn’t a woman to be crossed or argued with, but Tommy intended to do just that. He’d faced down Malcolm Merlyn—emotionally and verbally abusive father turned genocidal mass-murderer—for his entire life. He also stood up to the Arrow-turned-Green-Arrow on a regular basis.

“You know I can’t let you do this surgery, Dr. Merlyn,” Monique said, but she wasn’t making into move to scrub in. She was watching Tommy with her dark arms crossed and her dark eyes intent.

“Like hell you can’t,” he said, scrubbing in faster than he ever had in his life. The tech was holding the surgical gown a bit nervously in her hands, her eyes darting between Dr. Thompson and himself, but in the end Tommy’s snapped order of “ _now, please_ ” and Dr. Thompson’s lack of a response made the decision for her.

“There are protocols in place for a reason, Dr. Merlyn. It’s a conflict of interest. You’re not thinking clearly,” the chief of surgery said, but she didn’t sound like she actually meant it. Tommy was the best, he knew. The youngest certified trauma surgeon ever. If anyone could save Felicity Smoak, he knew that she knew it was him.

“My judgement is perfectly clear,” he said, trying his hardest not to snap at his boss. “Yes, my best friend’s fiancée is in there, but Felicity Smoak is more than just that. She’s more than one of my best friends. She’s a hero, fighting to make this city better every day. And she’s a person who needs my help. Even without the rest, that’s all I need to know.”

Tommy glared at Dr. Thompson, daring her to try and stop him. As much as he didn’t have time for a standoff, he knew that he needed to let the chief of surgery to agree with him for this to happen.

Dr. Thompson knew a little bit about Tommy’s past. After he’d punched the parent of a kid with a broken arm, finger-shaped bruises, too many old wounds, and a scared look in his eyes, Tommy had to get a psyche eval to be allowed back at work. Dr. Thompson had been privy to some of the information.

Tommy was excellent at compartmentalizing. He’d spent his childhood after his mother’s death switching between the personas of carefree billionaire scion Tommy Merlyn and the scared, timid kid he was at home, where he was met with an empty house, maybe a housekeeper or two, and rarely a distant, angry father. When his father came back after disappearing on his only child, things hadn’t gotten better.

Dr. Thompson knew he could do this.

“I’m not condoning this breach in protocol,” she announced, but Tommy knew she wasn’t done. “However, our best trauma surgeon _will_ operate on this patient. I’ll inform Mr. Queen that we’re doing everything we can to save Miss Smoak.”

Tommy nodded, but he didn’t even say thank you before he rushed into the OR and got to work. There would be time for that later. After he saved Felicity.

Failure wasn’t an option.

As he worked, his brain blocked out everything that wasn’t the patient under his hands. When he held out his hand for an instrument, he didn’t register anything but it hitting his hands before he got back to work. The techs were buzzing around him, assisting him, monitoring her vitals, and generally keeping her stable and alive so Tommy could get the bullets out of her body. She had several in her torso, flooding her lungs with blood, one that tore up a bit of her large and small intestines, and a few flesh wounds on her legs.

Tommy rushed to patch her intestines while the nurses and resident worked on her lungs. The resident, Darvan, was almost done with his residency and a very capable surgeon, so Tommy trusted him to keep Felicity from drowning in her own blood.

Her intestines were leaking acid into her body, but with his quick, steady hands he managed to patch them up and flush the contaminants.

She coded once, and Tommy was barking orders left and right, pressing the shock paddles into place, and yelling “clear!” before hardly anyone even realized what was happening. Thankfully, her heart started back without too much trouble. Tommy knew he was going to have nightmares about this for weeks.

The tricky bullet was lodged against her T10 vertebrae.

As soon as he saw it, Tommy paused for the briefest instant to just take it in. Her spine wasn’t broken, but he saw the cracks in the thoracic vertebrae and knew there was only so much he’d be able to do. He’d done a stint in neuro like all interns, but it wasn’t his specialty. Even if it was, Tommy could tell there was only so much to be done.

“Page Dr. Dandekar,” he said, and he sensed someone in his peripheral vision leap into action.

Until the neurosurgeon got there, Tommy busied himself with the rest of the bullets and patching up Felicity’s less serious wounds.

Kala was a quick woman, and she was across the table from Tommy before he even realized she’d entered the room. “Talk to me,” she said, her accented voice clear and commanding as she stared down at the parted flesh and bared spine between them. She had grown up in Mumbai before moving to the States to further her medical education. She was also one of the best neurosurgeons in the world, and Tommy was beyond thankful she was on duty that night.

“Multiple GSWs, intestines and lungs already patched, minor flesh wounds. This is the problem,” Tommy said, keeping his eyes on the gleaming white bone and the tiny, crushed black bullet beside it.

“T10 is cracked, possibly fractured,” she said, and Tommy looked up. Her dark brown eyes were trained on the injury and he could see her brilliant mind spinning. Finally, she came to a decision and grabbed a pair of forceps. “Hands off, everyone, unless necessary. We’re going to remove the bullet.”

Tommy nodded, trusting the surgeon’s judgment. If she thought it was better to take it out than leave it, then that was the best decision.

The two surgeons worked in tandem, Tommy keeping Kala’s eyeline clear of fluids while she gently, _gently_ extricated the bullet from Felicity’s spine. Tommy knew before he even saw Kala’s relieved expression that she hadn’t even had the barest accidental brush against Felicity’s injured vertebrae.

“Close her up, Dr. Merlyn,” she said, dropping the bullet into a waiting bowl. Tommy complied quickly and efficiently. He was even neater with his stitches than usual, keeping them tight and small as to minimize scarring. Tommy knew Felicity Smoak was a total badass, but he also knew the emotional toll scars could take. He’d seen it first hand in his best friend. If he could ease her recovery in any way, he’d do it.

Once she was closed up, wrapped in so much gauze she looked like half a mummy, and stabilized, the nurses and Darvan wheeled her out of the room. She was going to post-op, and then on to room 540 in the nicest wing of the hospital that the Queens happened to have funded. Oliver may have lost his fortune, but he was still an icon and a mayoral candidate. Felicity Smoak was a million in her own right. The hospital would treat them with the utmost deference.

Kala sighed and took off her mask and surgical cap. Tommy did the same and they scrubbed out much more slowly than they had scrubbed in.

“You did excellent work, Dr. Merlyn,” she said, concentrating on her hands. Tommy nodded, but he knew she wasn’t done. “We won’t know until she wakes up, but you know there is a very strong chance she’ll never walk again.”

Tommy bit his lip and nodded, clinging to his doctor persona that had kept him from totally spiraling the moment he saw the news footage hours before.

God, it really had been hours. He’d been in surgery for four hours and forty-seven minutes.

Oliver was probably distraught.

Kala turned and put her hand on Tommy’s shoulder, her dark eyes compassionate. They were friendly, but Tommy wouldn’t have called them friends. Still, grief was the great unifier. “Remember the good with the bad, Tommy. Don’t forget, in the midst of all this, that Miss Smoak _is_ alive. We saved her life.”

Tommy nodded, firmly clenching his jaw, but his eyes spoke his gratitude to Kala. She nodded and walked away, leaving Tommy alone.

He needed it.

As soon as the OR and pre-op room were empty, everything swamped him. His heart started to pound and blood rushed into his ears as he realized everything that happened over the past five hours.

Felicity—one of his best friends—had almost died. She’d lain on his table, skin ripped open to reveal injured organs and bones, as he fought death to save her.

Tears burned at his eyes, and all the breath whooshed out of his lungs when his mind supplied the only image worse than that: his wife, the love of his life, lying dead on the table. _Those_ were the nightmares that would haunt him the most, make him wake up screaming. She was out in the field too, fighting Ghosts every single night.

That would have to change soon, though. They hadn’t told anyone—and probably wouldn’t for a while after the events of tonight—but for the next seven and a half months, Laurel was off street duty.

After his breakdown, Tommy managed to piece himself back together and walk to the waiting room, barely seeing any of the people he was passing.

Once there, he frowned. Donna Smoak and Diggle were there, along with Thea, Laurel, and even Curtis Holt, but Oliver was nowhere to be found.

Donna was at his side as soon as she saw him, hugging him tightly and crying into his scrubs. He returned the embrace, opening his mouth to speak, but the older woman beat him to it, “I knew as soon as Dr. Thompson said the best was operating on my baby girl that she meant you! I don’t care about conflicts or interests or whatever, I’m so happy you were there for my baby! How is she, Tommy?” Donna pulled away but still held his arms, her watery blue eyes meeting his.

Everyone had come closer during Donna’s monologue. Laurel was at his side quickly, slipping her hand into his and giving him a small, warm smile of support. Everyone else was ranging from terrified to concerned.

“Felicity’s stable. She had a punctured lung and a bullet went through her intestines, but we managed to fix those problems and there should be no lasting problems from that. She coded on the table—” Donna gasped, tears spilled over Thea’s eyes, Laurel clutched his hand tighter, and Digg looked even more concerned “—but we revived her very quickly. The problem is a bullet hit her tenth thoracic vertebrae, near the curve of her back. Our neurosurgeon, Dr. Dandekar, removed the bullet. We won’t know about any lasting damage until Felicity wakes up.”

Everyone seemed to understand what he meant if their shuttered expressions were any indication, but Donna’s eyes got wider and her bottom lip trembled. “Lasting damage? What do you mean lasting damage?” she asked, her voice getting a bit high and reedy.

Thea was at the woman’s side in an instant, looping their arms together and leaning into her.

Tommy met Donna’s eyes, letting her see all the uncertainty he was feeling. She reached out her free hand and took the one Laurel wasn’t holding, still trying to comfort others despite her own fear. That, more than anything, told him he was definitely dealing with the woman who raised Felicity Smoak.

“Dr. Dandekar will tell you more when Felicity gets put into her room after post-op, but I can say this: injuries like Felicity’s usually end with paraplegia. There’s a very strong chance she’ll be paralyzed from the waist down,” he said, hating himself a little when Donna broke down into tears. Thea wrapped her arms around the blonde woman and they cried together, taking comfort in each other. Digg crossed his arms even more tightly and stared at the ground. His jaw was clenched, but tears still escaped over the rims of his eyes.

Where the fuck was Oliver?

Laurel stepped closer wrapping both her arms around his one and squeezing his bicep. He turned to her and saw sadness, compassion, and love in her green eyes.

It took his breath away. Laurel was always exactly what he needed.

“You said injuries like Felicity’s _usually_ end in paraplegia. Is there a chance it won’t?” she asked, hovering between logical and clinical and painfully hopeful. Tommy knew Laurel didn’t want to make this moment any harder on him, but Felicity was one of her best friends, too. She needed to know.

Tommy sighed, squeezing Laurel’s hand and taking strength from her presence. “There’s always a chance. Medicine isn’t an exact science. Unfortunately, the chances are very slim. We’ll do everything we can, call in as many experts as necessary, to make sure we do everything for Felicity,” he said, making sure Donna saw the seriousness in his eyes.

She nodded, still clutching at Thea. His little sister was perceptive, though, and when she saw Tommy’s curious, angry eyes flitting to Diggle every few moments, she turned to Donna. “Let’s go get something to eat and clean up, okay? As soon as Felicity’s in a room, we’ll be ready to go sit with her until she wakes up,” the young woman said, managing a weak smile that Donna returned.

They left the room and Tommy walked to a private corner, still holding on to Laurel. He heard Digg sigh, but the bodyguard followed them.

Tommy rounded on Digg, trying to remember _this_ wasn’t the man he was mad at.

“Where the fuck is he?!” Tommy whispered. He’d managed to avoid asking while delivering Felicity’s prognosis, but only because he didn’t want to cause Donna any more distress. She either hadn’t noticed her daughter’s fiancée wasn’t there, or already dealt with the emotions concerning it.

Digg and Laurel sighed at the exact same time. “He left,” the man said, resigned. “He said he couldn’t be here and left.”

Tommy could easily tell the other man’s feelings on the subject from his tone. No one here was very happy with the Green Arrow.

“I wanted to stay until we knew what happened, but now I have to go after him. Who knows what he’s doing out there?” Digg said, glancing to the windows like he could see through the city straight to his friend. “I’m scared he’s gonna fall off the rails if someone doesn’t have his back.”

Laurel nodded. “My dad already called,” she said, and glanced up at Tommy for a moment. “He’s tracking down Damien, which is why he isn’t there. I assume he’ll come by to see Donna soon.

“Anyway, apparently the Starling City Vigilante has been dropping bodies again. Just in the past few hours.”

Both vigilantes looked at each other, an undercurrent of concern rushing between them. Tommy could tell that they both wanted to be out there helping their friend, but at least one of them had a very legitimate reason she couldn’t.

“Go,” Tommy said, nodding to Diggle. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I’m sure there’s a list of people who have some choice words for him when he finally decides to show up.”

Diggle nodded and started to walk away, but Tommy called, “One more thing? If he isn’t here when she wakes up, I’m siccing Donna on him.” It was an attempt to inject humor, but Tommy was also one hundred percent serious. And very angry at his best friend.

Oliver had proposed to Felicity mere hours ago, and at the first true test of those vows he’d implied he wanted to say, the vigilante up and ran. _In sickness and in health_ got too real, apparently.

The bodyguard nodded and left the room, walking like he held the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Well, they were huge. He could probably take it.

Once they were alone, Tommy and Laurel turned into each other. They held each other as tight as they could, just reveling in a moment of quiet. She smelled like home and the perfume she always went back to no matter how many different ones she tried.

“I wish I could go out there,” Laurel said, murmuring into the skin of his neck. He held her tighter, giving her time to gather her thoughts. “I want to have his back just so I can punch him when we get Darhk. I never could’ve left if something like that happened to you.”

Tommy clutched her even tighter, letting the warmth of her body seep through his scrubs, and rubbed her back. He felt wetness at his shoulder and murmured soothing words into her ear. “I’m angry, too, but I guess everyone processes grief differently. Oliver’s always been a runner. Remember when I almost died after the Undertaking?” he asked, and even though he knew she did, Laurel nodded anyway. “He ran off to literal Purgatory Island for five months.”

Laurel let out a little laugh and stepped back, wiping her eyes but staying in the circle of Tommy’s arms. “Yeah, I guess Oliver’s never been the poster child for healthy emotion management,” she said, taking a few deep breaths to get herself under control.

Just then, the PA system announced, “Paging Dr. Merlyn. Paging Dr. Merlyn. Please report to the emergency room. Please report to the emergency room.”

Laurel sighed and Tommy bent over, resting his forehead against hers. “Don’t worry, I promise I’m staying here. I’ll keep Donna company and let Thea try to knock some sense into her brother,” she said, smiling when Tommy kissed the tip of her nose.

One of his hands moved from her back to gently rest against her lower stomach. It hadn’t even started to swell yet, but Oliver knew there was a tiny life growing just inches below his hand.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” he said, looking back up into Laurel’s eyes. They were so close, foreheads against each other, that her eyes were all he could see. “Eat something healthy. Drink plenty of water. Get some rest. Don’t—”

Laurel grinned a big, bright, blinding grin that had Tommy immediately returning it even though he didn’t understand why she was smiling. “Gosh, you’re such a dad already. He’s not even born yet,” she said, but rested her hand over his as they basked in the brief moment before Tommy had to rush off to the ER.

“It could be a _she_ , you know. Also, I love it when you say that,” he said, and smiled in spite of the horrible evening. He supposed the day hadn’t been totally horrible, and hadn’t ended that way, either. Everyone was alive, and Felicity was insanely strong. She’d face whatever her future held with her head high, and when she couldn’t, they’d all be there for her.

“Alright, Dr. Merlyn. Time to get to work,” she said, going on her toes and kissing him briefly on the lips before she started to walk away.

Tommy watched her leave with a small smile, marveling at the way life worked. Somehow, he’d managed to end up married to the only woman in the entire world who could make him smile when one of his friends was unconscious in a hospital bed and the other was rampaging through the streets.

Tommy gathered himself and set off through the hospital, getting back to work. Whatever the future brought, they could take it. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kala Dandekar is totally an insert from Sense8. I used her in my drabble series, too. She's my fav.
> 
> What did you think? Leave me a comment and a kudo then head over to my [Tumblr](https://imusuallyobsessed.tumblr.com/) and chat with me! I love hearing from you guys.


	8. I Came to be a Soldier, Not a Secretary (2x01)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy shows up at Verdant in the middle of a Wednesday only to find his favorite IT girl drinking alone at the bar. He said her drinks were always on the house, but that was before she started throwing back vodka like water. There's only one reason she could be acting this way, and he's tall and favors green leather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaack! Did ya miss me?!
> 
> Sorry this took so long. I got a job! I'm pretty busy but I really wanted to update this story. I'm trying to work on the chapter for the Undertaking but I'm so uninspired at the moment. This was what I wanted to write instead!
> 
> The title is a rejected line from "Right Hand Man" in Hamilton. It's when Washington says "Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you" and Hamilton retorts, "To be their secretary, I don't think so." This fic title was a first draft of that line before Lin-Manuel decided to add some more sass.
> 
> And I have art now! OMG! It's so pretty! It's by pleasantfanandstudent on Tumblr :-))) I'm still drooling.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“Woah there, Smoaky. You’re gonna drink me out of house and home.”

Felicity sat at Verdant’s bar, drinking what Tommy was pretty sure was vodka out of a normal sized glass. The woman in question rolled her eyes and took one more sip, eyeing Tommy pointedly so he would know it was just to spite him.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed once she slammed the mostly-empty glass back down. “You don’t even live here and you make more than enough money to support yourself without Verdant. Besides, you said my drinks were always on the house.”

“Yeah, when the most you’d have was a cocktail or two. Straight vodka before noon on a Wednesday isn’t usually your style,” he said, moving behind the bar so he could face Felicity on her stool. “What’s up?”

It was obviously that Felicity was distressed. Her brows were furrowed and her bright pink lips made a grim line. They made quite the picture, a respectably dressed IT girl drinking in the middle of an empty club, sitting across from a casually-dressed doctor – and one of the club’s owners – before noon in the middle of the week.

Tommy could guess what was wrong. Felicity and Diggle had just gotten back from retrieving one runaway vigilante on Sunday. They’d spent the weekend flying to Hong Kong, then Lian Yu, somehow convincing the most stubborn person Tommy had ever known to change his mind, and then flown back to the States. Oliver hadn’t started back at QC until today, but Felicity was right back in her office on Monday morning. Sometimes Tommy was sure she got even less sleep than he did, which was saying something. Not only was he a surgeon, but nightmares from the events of the Undertaking, of the city collapsing around him as his own father rained down destruction, kept him awake.

The government had seized all of Malcolm’s assets, but Tommy was more than happy to get rid of anything that man had ever touched. Rebecca’s things were safe, thankfully, and all given to Tommy in her will. Something Malcolm had kept from him since her death, the bastard. Despite all that, Tommy had set up a massive disaster relief fund to help the Glades. He’d lived off his own efforts since college. He didn’t need a trust fund to survive. The Glades needed it way more than he did. Mostly he kept sentimental things that reminded him of his mother.

Public opinion was much harder to overcome than the letter of the law, but Tommy was managing. Felicity and Thea helped, of course. Oliver had up and run off like he was the only one effected by the whole thing. Laurel… Laurel had spent a long time recovering from being caught in CNRI as it fell, but she’d since taken a job in Coast City for a year. She’d come to him after everything, saying she was sorry for what she did with Oliver and that she loved him, but Tommy couldn’t believe it. Laurel said one thing but did another, and Tommy had long learned to trust a person’s actions more than their words. He missed her, of course. He still loved her. But they needed time to figure themselves out and Tommy needed to decide if he could trust Laurel again.

“Oliver made me his _secretary_ ,” Felicity spat the poisonous barb like the very word made her tongue taste bad.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and gaped. Instantly, his own problems vanished and he focused on his friend’s. “He did… _what_?”

“I came into work this morning and was informed by HR that I was _promoted_ to _Executive Assistant to the CEO._ Aka: _secretary_. I have two master’s degrees in cybersecurity and computer science! What about those qualifications screams _secretary_?”

Felicity was livid. Over the years, Tommy had been subject to her loud voice but this was on another level.

“I know, Felicity. I was the only person brave enough to study with you in college,” he said, not trying to placate her, but remind her that he wasn’t the person she was angry at.

Felicity softened for a moment, obviously remembering their numerous study sessions in college. Tommy needed to be around someone as dedicated as Felicity to keep him on track – he was easily distracted, even by things that interested him – and she needed a study-buddy who would actually come back after their first session. Studying with Felicity was like studying with a grizzly bear.

“You’re my friend, Merlyn. You’re obligated to listen to me complain about the most pig-headed, obstinate, idiotic, stubborn person in our lives.”

Tommy laughed a little and shook his head. “I don’t know. That kind of sounds like _two_ people in my life.”

Felicity pointed a finger at him, her eyes narrowed threateningly, and declared, “That may be true, but I don’t change the trajectory of people’s careers and open them up to gossip and criticism without at least _asking_ first.”

“I’m not defending him.”

“Sounds like it.”

Tommy reached over the bar and took Felicity’s hands, simultaneously keeping them from wildly gesticulating and reaching for the vodka again. As much as Felicity deserved to cut loose, he knew she hated herself the next day when she drank too much liquor. It was why she usually stuck to wine.

Tommy had a sixth sense for that women wanted, and he’d chosen to only use his powers for good. Felicity needed to rant about Oliver and Tommy was nothing if not supportive. “Felicity, Oliver was a complete and total idiot. Let’s TP his office. Or egg his Ducati. Or cover his office in sticky notes with mean comments on them. Have you ever seen _John Tucker Must Die_? It’ll be like that but – ”

“Tommy!” Felicity exclaimed, pulling at his hands and shaking her head while she laughed.

Mission accomplished, Tommy just smiled. Things didn’t feel right in the world when Felicity wasn’t smiling. His best friend had given her too many reasons not to smile lately.

“As fun as that would be, we can’t do that. Oliver has too much on his plate already. He said he made me his EA because he needs someone he can trust to help him. Well, and because he can’t come down to the IT department every time he needs to talk to me about how we spend our nights. Platonically, obviously. Down in the lair. Which you know. Because you know how we spend our nights,” Felicity babbled, progressively turning more red until she closed her mouth and clamped her lips shut.

Tommy found it interesting that Felicity had gone from berating Oliver to defending him, but that was just the way she was. It was one of the things that drew her to Tommy when he was an angry pre-med student who’d just been cut off from his father and dealing with a missing-presumed-dead best friend.

“Did anyone say anything to you?” Tommy asked, finally latching on to the gossip she mentioned. Five minutes with Felicity would let anyone know that she was more than qualified for almost any position in, but most of the company had never met the IT girl and would only see a girl go from working with computers to being the CEO’s assistant. Tommy had a front row seat to the cruelty some people could display. It made him angry to think of anyone turning that poisonous attitude on to his friend.

Felicity rolled her eyes and sighed, sitting back on her chair and crossing her arms. “What do you think? An IT girl with no HR experience gets ‘promoted’ to be the EA to the CEO and several people still remember when said CEO visited said IT girl when he first came back. The gossip basically spreads itself,” she said, trying and failing to sound neutral and blasé.

It was very obvious to Tommy, and anyone with eyes, that the situation bothered her. But Tommy had long believed that Oliver was selectively blind.

“Have you told Oliver?” Tommy asked. Oliver may not have noticed, but Tommy had to believe that he would do something if it was brought to his attention.

While his question still lingered in the cavernous club, Felicity’s phone buzzed. She scowled at it sitting innocently on the bar, lit up with a text notification. Several more followed.

“Oliver?” Tommy asked. Felicity’s dark look was all the answer he needed.

“And Digg,” she added, making another face at her phone when it buzzed again.

“Do they know you’re here?”

Another look was her answer and Tommy sighed. It still surprised him when responsible thoughts crossed his mind, and this was one such situation. “Did you tell them you were leaving?” he asked.

Felicity shook her head, swirling the vodka in her glass like it held the secrets of the universe.

Tommy sighed again, running a hand over his hair. “You should tell them,” he said. Felicity immediately bristled and he rushed to equivocate. “They’ll be worried. You know how they are.”

Felicity looked mutinous, crossing her arms and glaring at her phone. “Oliver disappeared for months and didn’t tell anyone where _he_ was going. I should get _one fracking afternoon_ ,” she growled, sounding quite similar to the vigilante in question.

There wasn’t really much Tommy could say to that. He shrugged, grabbed the vodka, and poured her some more. “Can’t argue with that. Drink up, Smoaky,” he said, pouring a little vodka in his own glass. It was his day off, after all.

“Only if you join me, Bandit.”

“I’d never let a lady drink alone.”

 

* * *

 

“Yeah man, she’s with me. She’s… actually, _no_ , she’s not fine. You made her your secretary, Ollie? What were you thinking?”

Oliver sighed, but it was almost drowned out by Felicity call echoing in the empty club, “Tommy! Wha’re ya doin’? Le’s order pizza!”

“I know, Tommy,” Oliver said finally, sounding weary. “But it was the only way to – ”

“Don’t say it was the _only way_ ,” Tommy snapped, feeling righteous indignation for his friend. Felicity was too deep in vodka to properly express her anger. It was Tommy’s duty to rip Oliver a new one in her inebriated state. “There’s no way making a woman with her qualifications a secretary was the _only way_. You’re throwing her to the wolves!”

“… What do you mean?”

“God, Ollie, how dense are you? What do you think everyone around QC’s talking about? You promoted a pretty blonde girl with no experience in HR to be your secretary!”

“… Executive Assistant.”

“Do you honestly think that makes a difference? Not only are you ruining her career, but you’re dragging her reputation through the mud!”

“She didn’t say anything – ”

“What’s she supposed to do when you say you _need_ her?” Tommy asked scathingly. “She’s not going to say no to that. She wants to help because she believes in you and you took advantage of her.”

Oliver was silent on the other end of the line, but before he could think of something to say Felicity was calling her again. “I gotta go, Ollie. Just…think about what I said. I’ll see you later,” he said, hanging up before Oliver could say anything.

Tommy went back to the bar, unable to stop a smile at the sight of his friend swaying on her stool to music she was playing from her phone. It had been a few hours since Tommy decided to aid and abet Felicity in her mission to forget her problems for a while.

“How about we go grab pizza on my way to take you home?” Tommy offered.

Felicity pouted, widening her blue eyes. “But I don’t _want_ to go home,” she whined. “That means I have to go to sleep and wake up and go to work tomorrow as a _secretary_.”

Despite her slurred words, she still managed to hiss her new title perfectly.

“Let’s not think about that,” Tommy said, grabbing Felicity’s purse and gently leading his blonde friend out of Verdant. It was getting to the time when their general manager would show up and start to prepare for the night.

For all her protests, Felicity didn’t try to stop Tommy from putting her in the car. She kept up a running stream of babble as he drove her home and ordered pizza on the way.

She was still talking when Tommy parked at her house, now talking about how excited she was to eat the pizza he’d ordered.

She was in the middle of waxing poetic about extra cheese _and_ extra sauce while Tommy got her some water in the kitchen when she suddenly went quiet.

Tommy turned around from his place at her skin, about to walk into the living room to force her to drink some water, when he saw her fast asleep on the couch.

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh a little – quietly, of course. He left the water on the coffee table just as the doorbell rang. Felicity didn’t even stir.

Once the pizza was secured, Tommy grabbed a slice and settled into Felicity’s comfortable teal reclining chair.

Felicity considered sports on her TV to be just a step above criminal, but Tommy kept ESPN’s volume low and ate his mushroom, pepperoni and Italian sausage pizza in the quiet. Felicity would wake up soon with a hangover and Tommy anticipated she’d need a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Drop me a comment and a kudo, then head over to my Tumblr and give me a follow! I'd love to hear from you over there, too.
> 
> The Undertaking is coming! I'm trying to write it, but it's hard. The direction I'm going moves Tommy away from a lot of the action, so I'm trying to make it interesting while keeping everyone's favorite devilishly handsome doctor alive.


	9. Dum Vivimus Vivamus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been four months since the Queen's Gambit sank, and Tommy Merlyn isn't coping well. Then, his bleak world gets a little color when he meets a bristly, wicked-smart Goth with a severe peanut allergy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BAAAAAAACK!
> 
> I know, it's been 5 million years. But here I am! This is a thank you for OVER 450 followers on Tumblr (same name as here) and your general amazingness! I did a poll on my Tumblr about what you guys wanted to see next, and Tommy and Felicity's first meeting was highly requested.
> 
> I've been trying to write the Undertaking in this universe, but I keep hitting a wall. I'm trying to keep it exciting, but also keep our beloved Dr. Merlyn away from the action so he can save lives and not die. I'll figure it out eventually!
> 
> Be kind, I barely skimmed this before posting.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Tommy threw back another shot, savoring the peppery burn of tequila as it slid down his throat. He hadn’t gone to a single party all semester and this was his one chance to blow out before he had to start studying for finals.

Figured, it took changing his major to pre-med and getting disowned for him to finally care about academics.

That, and his best friend had officially been lost at sea for four months.

He could still remember going to see Ollie off at the dock, waving as he sailed away. Oliver had gotten on the _Gambit_ to run away from dealing with Laurel, Tommy knew, but no one could’ve guessed how thoroughly Oliver’s actions destroyed everyone he left behind. Not only was Laurel’s relationship with Oliver ruined, but she’d lost her sister, and Quentin and Dinah had lost a daughter. The tabloids were still running articles on it months later, and he was selfishly happy he was in Boston on the other side of the country from the drama.

It was hard, though, when Thea called. It was only ‘just to talk, Tommy. I’m bored without you,’ but he heard the loneliness and heartbreak under her cheerful exterior.

Thea was still just a kid, but she was suffering the absence of a parent and a brother, and Moira had completely fallen into herself. Raisa was still around, doing her best to be some semblance of a parent, but Thea just wanted her mom to tell her everything was going to be okay. It was hard to reassure anyone when Moira refused to even get out of bed.

Those thoughts had too bitter a tinge, so he just downed another shot before turning back to face the crowded bar.

The Porcellian Club had tapped him for potential membership, and though the deadline to decide was closing in, he still hadn’t made a final choice. In two years of undergrad, he’d never joined a fraternity. It just seemed boring to do without Ollie, and his best friend had never been interested in organized activities.

Anyway, this party was supposed to be one of the last hurrahs before decisions were made. They’d rented out the White Horse Tavern for the evening and it was becoming more debauched by the minute.

Before he could decide where to bestow his presence next, a loud cheer by the Tetris machine caught his attention. A crowd was gathered, cheering around something Tommy couldn’t see from his vantage point. Curious, he made his way over.

The sight that greeted him wasn’t what he expected.

A girl stood in front of the machine, her heavily-made-up blue eyes trained intently on the screen in front of her. Long, black hair obscured most of her face, but Tommy saw a wicked grin on her purple-painted mouth as yet another colorful piece went perfectly into its slot.

It wasn’t her being female that shocked him, or that she was completely destroying the Tetris machine with obvious skill. Girls at Harvard were usually smarter than the boys in his experience. It wasn’t even that she was a goth. It was that she looked like a _kid_.

Despite the dark makeup and goth clothes, she looked young. Too young to be in college, let alone at a bar.

Eventually, she won the level and the crowd cheered. She did a little fist bump and turned around with her hand held out. Spectators laid down different denominations of bills, grumbling good-naturedly as they moved away.

“You didn’t bet anything,” the girl said, counting the cash and not even looking up at Tommy. Her tone wasn’t rude or curious, just a statement of fact. “I remember everyone who owes me.”

“You really cleaned up,” Tommy said. “You’ve got skills.”

The girl rolled her eyes. She shoved the money into her pocket and turned to face him with her arms crossed. “If you’re about to make some disgusting comment about other skills I might have, I’m willing to give up my fake ID to get you charged with sexual harassment of a minor,” she snapped. Everything about her – from her dyed black hair to her combat boots – bristled.

Tommy opened his mouth and closed it a few times, not sure what to say – or if he should even say anything – when the girl smirked and said, “That’s what I thought,” before walking away.

That was unexpected. It jolted him out of the funk he’d been in all night – all school year, if he was honest. After the unthinkable happened, it was hard to be surprised by anything. Somehow, Tetris Girl managed.

Tommy did his best to enjoy the rest of the party – more tequila helped – but he couldn’t stop thinking about Tetris Girl. He’d catch glimpses of her out of the corner of his eye, chatting with a few guys he remembered were in computer science or engineering or something, and she always had a drink in her hand. Obviously, her fake was good enough that the bouncers were fooled. But, she didn’t want his company or commentary so Tommy just turned back to Meredith… Michelle? Martha? Whatever her name was, Tommy resolved to enjoy her thoroughly.

That plan worked, until yet another commotion caught Tommy’s attention.

“Yo, Merlyn! Get over here!”

Reagan, a senior and the Club’s president, sounded panicked, which instantly put him on alert. Despite only having one semester of pre-med under his belt, the guys decided that made him the unofficial medic when shit hit the fan. Which was often. Regan’s voice was the same one he used last week when a sophomore decided playing the knife game while drunk was a good idea. Without a second thought, Tommy left Meredith (he was almost sure that was her name) and ran toward the crowd.

At the food table – university policy stated they had to have food at every party – everyone was crouched around someone on the floor. A closer look confirmed that the dark clothes and black hair belonged to Tetris Girl. She was on the floor gasping for breath through her dark-painted lips. Her skin looked even paler than it had before.

“Everybody back up! What happened?” he asked as he crouched beside Tetris Girl, checking her pulse and rifling through her pockets to see if she had any medical ID on her. Or normal ID.

“I don’t know! I just gave her some food and then this happened!” Nick stammered. Nick was a freshman and a total idiot, so Tommy really wasn’t surprised he was at the center of this shit storm.

“Dude, is she okay? The liability insurance doesn’t cover this shit,” Reagan asked, looking at Tommy like he was an actual doctor instead of a first semester pre-med student.

“I don’t know, give me a fucking minute,” he snapped before turning back to Tetris Girl.

“Hey, hey,” he called to her, trying to get her attention but her eyes were wild and unfocused. He gripped her hand, trying to give her something to hold on to. “Hey, Tetris Girl. Look at me. What happened?”

The girl somehow managed to look annoyed at the nickname in her current state but managed to gasp out, “ _Peanuts_.”

“Epi-pen?”

The girl shook her head, her eyes growing wide with fear, and Tommy immediately pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

“Dude, what’re you doing?” Reagan asked, obviously alarmed.

Tommy had no time for that. “Calling an ambulance,” he said before he started talking to the operator, “Yes, I have an emergency at 116 Brighton Avenue. A girl is in anaphylactic shock due to a severe peanut allergy and doesn’t have her Epi-Pen. Send an ambulance. The incident occurred just a few minutes ago, and I’m trying to keep her airways clear. My name is Thomas Merlyn, callback number is 707-845-7432.”

The rest of the party was a flurry of activity – underage people rushing to get out, Reagan freaking out about the liability insurance, and Nick freaking out about getting arrested since Tommy hadn’t let him leave.

The ambulance arrived in minutes and Tommy got out of the way, anxiously watching as they took care of his Tetris Girl and loaded her into an ambulance. Tommy followed after them, not wanting to lose sight of her, and wasn’t above using his name – several times – at the hospital to let them into Felicity’s room.

He knew her name now. Felicity Smoak, freshman at MIT, and all of 16 years old.

“Knock, knock,” he said at the door to her room, rapping his knuckles on the frame. She looked so small in the sterile room, drowning in hospital bed sheets.

Felicity opened her eyes, heavy with Benadryl. “Hey,” she said with a tiny smile, “you’re Not Creepy Guy.”

Tommy tilted his head as he walked in and sat in the chair by her bed. She answered his unspoken question with, “You’re the only guy who didn’t try to get in my pants all night.”

“Your threats sounded pretty serious,” he said with a smile. “Didn’t want to risk it.”

She laughed, just a little exhalation of air, before her dark-rimmed eyes became serious. “Why are you here? You didn’t have to come. Isn’t there a kegger that requires your attention?” she asked, her voice tired but fighting to be humorous.

Tommy shrugged. “The party kind of dissolved when I had to call 911. Too many people with fake IDs. Speaking of, is yours really that good? The bouncers we hired are pretty strict. Reagan’s serious about liability stuff,” he asked.

Felicity grinned. “Anyone with boobs can get a frat boy to do anything. I have some freshman sneak me in the back door,” she explained with a little wink that just ended up being a weird, off-time blink.

Tommy was instantly reminded of Thea. The girls didn’t look the same and Thea was brittle with grief now, but something about Felicity’s guileless smile and bright laughter reminded him of better times with Ollie and Thea – the family he’d always wished was actually his.

“Well, thanks for coming, I guess. My mom lives in Vegas and I’ll be released soon, anyway. It’s just nice to have someone here with me so I’m not bored,” she said, sounding as tough as a 16-year-old in a hospital bed could.

Tommy made the executive decision not to ask about her dad. She hadn’t mentioned him, and he didn’t want to pry. He was the last person judge complicated paternal relationships.

They made small talk for a while, about his major, how she got into college so young, and how she found out she had a peanut allergy. Tommy quickly realized that Felicity was funny, sweet, and genuine underneath the goth exterior. Not that goths couldn’t be those things, but they usually weren’t in his experience.

“I can’t believe you got into Harvard’s pre-med program. That’s so impressive,” she said.

Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, but I wasn’t getting in at 16. My teenage years definitely weren’t full of academic excellence,” he explained.

Felicity shrugged. “You figured it out, that’s what matters.”

For some reason, Felicity being proud of him meant something. Maybe it was because she had no idea who he was – he’d kept the Merlyn part of his name close to the vest – and didn’t think he’d only gotten in because of his father. It was nice to have someone that actually believed in him, even if it was a girl he’d just met.

The doctor came in to discharge Felicity, and when he asked if she had anyone she could stay with for the night, Tommy immediately volunteered.

Felicity looked at him sharply as the doctor signed his various forms, and Tommy realized he was basically a stranger to this girl. She was probably creeped out that he offered his place.

“I mean… unless that makes you uncomfortable. I’d understand if it would. We only just met tonight and all,” he said, trying to revoke his invitation if Felicity had someone she’d rather stay with.

Felicity smiled and said, “Usually I’m the one talking in sentence fragments. My babbles are legendary.”

Tommy didn’t know what to say and Felicity still looked contemplative, so he stayed quiet.

Felicity shrugged. “I mean, you did save my life. Throw in dinner and I’d say we’re not strangers anymore,” she said.

“You asking me on a date, Smoak?” Tommy asked.

“Not really,” she said before grinning. “You have to pay.”

Tommy shrugged. “That’s more than fair.”

 

* * *

 

Dinner went surprisingly well. They went to a hole-in-the-wall place Tommy had never heard of. When he said that, Felicity looked scandalized and told him three dishes he _had_ to order because they were the _best_. He’d done so, of course, despite her sputtering protests that he didn’t actually have to order three things, he could just pick one. But Tommy wanted to get her whatever she wanted since she’d almost gone into anaphylactic shock, and Felicity hadn’t had an argument for that.

The meal went just as well as their talk the hospital. Felicity talked a little about her computer science friends, the projects she was working on, and Boston. Tommy noticed she didn’t talk at all about her time in Vegas or her mother, but he didn’t talk about his past either so he couldn’t exactly point it out.

It seemed to be a match made in friendship heaven. Both of them were trying to outrun their pasts.

They closed down the restaurant and Felicity decided she trusted Tommy enough to stay at his place. Once she made sure his guest room had a lock that only opened from the inside.

She could barely believe his apartment had a guest room, and went into a story about her crappy dorm and the tiny off-campus apartment some of her friends shared. Tommy had to admit, there were perks to being rich. Still, he didn’t offer his name and she didn’t ask. The anonymity couldn’t last forever, but Tommy wanted to make the best impression he could before being a Merlyn got in the way.

As he helped her settle into his guest room, fetching blankets and such at her request, Felicity grinned up at him and murmured, “Dum vivimus vivamus.”

Tommy paused. “I know that’s Latin, but I’m only in 101 and so far, we’re learning about horses, carts, and slaves,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her.

Felicity laughed, a quiet, tired sound that still portrayed her genuine happiness. Tommy was struck again with a strong impression of Thea. “It’s the motto of your Club. Don’t you know it?” she asked.

Tommy shrugged. “I’m probably not going to actually initiate. I’m not really an ‘organized activities’ guy,” he explained.

Felicity sighed and closed her eyes. “While we live, let us live. Those Clubs are super elitist and misogynistic, but they’ve got good mottos,” she murmured, slipping moments later into sleep.

Tommy laid the final blanket over her. She’d requested “the fluffiest one you own,” but all he’d been able to find was a huge flannel one he took camping once and never used again. He didn’t even know why he had it in Boston. But it came in handy now.

With that, Tommy left the room and shut the door quietly, huffing a little when he realized that Felicity wasn’t even awake to lock the door. He was happy she trusted him, though. It made him feel good, helping someone else. His future wasn’t going to be full of saving everyone, but if he could help anyone – even on a small level – it would be enough for him.

“Dum vivimus vivamus,” he murmured, glancing at the door to his guest room once more before disappearing into his bedroom. That was when he realized, he’d barely thought of Ollie all night.

At first, he felt guilty, but then he remembered Thea’s smile, Moira’s hugs, Felicity’s laugh, and Laurel’s eyes. There would always be a hole in his life where Ollie was supposed to go, but maybe his future didn’t have to be full of regret and tragedy.

While Tommy Merlyn was alive, he’d make damn sure he lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? Let me know here or on my Tumblr (same name as here)! Hopefully it won't take me so long to upload next time.


	10. Skin and Soul (5x17)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immediately after the events of Arrow 5x17. Oliver passes out, and the team has to bring him to Starling General. Tommy initiates a code green and gets to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can thank @emmilynestill on Tumblr (Emmilyne here on AO3) for this chapter. She ever-so-gently encouraged me to write this chapter, and helped me figure stuff out when I needed help! I wanted to write this chapter anyway, but even we writers need encouragement sometimes. Hope y'all like it!

It was the beginning of Tommy’s night shift, and he would never admit that he was loitering by the window to put off going into the ER for a few extra moments.

He loved his job, he really did, but these last six days had been some of the worst of his life. The only thing he could compare it to was when Oliver was gone for five years. Then, though, Tommy thought he was dead. Moved on. Oliver was going through hell, but Tommy didn’t know that. Now, Oliver had been kidnapped by a psychopath. He was worried sick, and he’d even gotten sent home early from a few shifts because his coworkers thought he looked like he should be in a hospital bed himself.

Laurel had helped him talk through it, though, and Rebecca helped immensely. Even at only a few months old, Tommy’s daughter had a way about her that made everything seem okay. Laurel had taken Becca to work at the DA’s office that day so Tommy could get uninterrupted sleep before his night shift.

A familiar guitar refrain hit his ears, and Tommy managed to pull out his phone just as Jet started singing about how “that girl’s a genius.”

“Any news, Felicity?” he asked, trying not to sound too harried. If Tommy was worried sick, Felicity had been absolutely mental from the moment she realized her husband was missing. Digg and the rest of the team had her on lockdown in the bunker with round-the-clock bodyguard shifts. Adrian had taken Oliver and they were all terrified he’d come after Felicity.

“He’s here,” she said in a rush, sounding close to tears.

“ _What_? How? When?”

“I know you’re worried, but there’s no time right now. He’s just… God, Tommy, he looks terrible. Most of it I’ve dealt with before, but… Tommy, there’s this horrible burn and -- ”

“Send me a picture,” Tommy said, slipping into doctor mode. He was relieved, panicked, and still absolutely terrified at what his best friend had been through, but becoming Dr. Merlyn let him put all that aside. He could store it in a small box in the corner of his mind and take it out to freak out when he was alone.

Within seconds, Tommy’s phone beeped and he looked at the picture of Oliver’s chest.

His stomach pitched.

Tommy was a trauma surgeon. He’d even performed multiple emergency surgeries on his best friend. But this… knowing how he got those wounds, how they’d been inflicted with such malicious hatred, made him want to go find Adrian Chase and use all the medical knowledge at his disposal to make the other man suffer.

Tommy focused. He removed his best friend from the wounds he saw in the picture and brought the phone back to his ear.

“He needs a skin graft. I’ll let the hospital know. Bring him in now, I don’t care what he says. His magical island herbs and refusal to admit the extent of his injuries won’t help this time,” he said, hanging up immediately. Felicity wouldn’t waste any time, and neither should he.

Tommy quickly made his way to the nurse’s station. Dolores and Riz were on duty, joking with each other as they did their various duties.

They looked up at Tommy drew close, happy expressing morphing into concern as they saw his face. “We’ve got a code green,” he said.

Dolores nodded and jumped into action, taking the phone off the wall and announcing to the hospital, “Code green, code green. I repeat, code green. Initiative code green protocol.”

Riz’s dark skin turned ashen and his brown eyes went wide. He was a recent hire, Tommy knew, and he’d never been here during a Green Arrow emergency.

Starling General was busy all the time, but Tommy felt like the whole place jumped to attention. Orderlies began to move all noncritical patients out and to Glades Memorial. Critical patients were moved to the other side of the hospital from the trauma unit, and trauma victims lying in the ER beds were moved as well. Within just a few minutes, the entire ER was empty except for a skeleton crew of nurses, a few orderlies, and Tommy himself. All security measures except the electronic door locks were off, meaning there were no security recordings. No one on staff would give away the Green Arrow, but it was better to discourage any zealous hackers.

They were ready when Digg, Curtis, and Felicity brought an unconscious Oliver into the ER. Orderlies immediately went behind them to cover the doors and windows to keep prying eyes away.

Oliver hung between Digg and Curtis, his head lolled forward. Felicity fluttered around them, keeping up a running commentary while her hands fluttered around like distressed birds.

“Over here,” Tommy said, gesturing to the closest gurney.

Digg and Curtis laid an unconscious Oliver down, immediately taking a step back to let Tommy get close. Felicity was on Oliver’s other side, gripping his limp hand as she gazed at his face but talked Tommy through what they knew.

Tommy set to work examining all his wounds, thankful they either hadn’t bandaged any of them or taken the bandages off before bringing Oliver here.  Tommy would’ve had to look at all of them either way, and this was faster. Not that he didn’t trust Digg and Felicity’s medical expertise after all these years taking care of a reckless vigilante, but Tommy was the one with a MD. And he’d taken the Hippocratic oath.

“If I didn’t know Oliver so well, I’d be afraid these wounds would be too much. But he’ll recover from everything, especially if he just walked home like you said,” Tommy said, putting aside his disbelief at his best friend. He was in Dr. Merlyn mode, he couldn’t think of the man laying before him as his best friend. It was how he got through eight hour surgeries, patient’s dying, and horrific things medical school didn’t prepare him for.

“This burn, though,” Tommy said, moving closer to carefully inspect where Oliver’s Bratva tattoo had been. “Like I said, it definitely needs a skin graft. I’d take him to the burn unit, but we need to keep him in as few places as possible. OR 1 is clear, so let’s take him there.”

Digg and Curtis went to either side of the bed, taking over so Felicity could be there for Oliver. “Dolores,” he called. Moments later, the older Latina woman was by his side with sharp eyes and sure hands.

“The Green Arrow needs a skin graft. We need to take him to OR 1. Is Riz -- ”

“Riz found himself unable to perform his duties. Annabel came as soon as I called,” she explained quickly, and the second nurse in question materialized on Tommy’s other side.

“I just transferred from Glades Memorial, Dr. Merlyn,” she said when Tommy furrowed his brow, unable to place her. “Dolores briefed me and I’ve signed all the necessary documents. Including the NDA. And trust me, after what the Green Arrow has done for this city, I would never think to betray him. My brother would’ve died during the Siege without the help of the vigilantes.”

Tommy nodded and unhooked the gurney from the wall. “Follow me, everyone,” he said, knowing better than to try and keep Digg, Curtis and Felicity in the waiting room.

They moved quickly and efficiently through the halls of the hospital. “Felicity, Digg, and Curtis. You can go sit in the observation room but I will not allow you in my OR. I understand you want to be there and tonight already breaks standard hospital protocol in a hundred ways, but I can’t have you in there while I do this. Do you understand?” he asked, but it wasn’t a question. He had to separate himself from the man who was Oliver’s best friend. Normally, he’d never be allowed to operate on Oliver. But during a code green, things were always a little sideways.

“Whatever you need, Tommy,” Felicity said, her heels a continuous click on the tile floor. They’d been doing this long enough that she knew better than to argue. This wasn’t the lair, and Felicity would never do anything that could compromise Tommy’s ability to care for her husband.

They made it to the OR and Tommy got to work. He retreated deeper into his mind, focused only on the patient and what he had to do.

The actual procedure didn’t take long since the burned skin wasn’t over a large surface area. Tommy worked quickly, but refused to compromise quality for speed. He needed to do a good job, because getting Oliver to be careful for the seven to ten days it could take to heal would be hard enough.

Less than an hour later, Oliver was in a private room recovering. Dolores and Annabel were setting everything up, so he went to get Felicity, Digg, and Curtis.

Felicity’s eyes were red-rimmed, but her voice was strong when she asked, “How is he?”

“Everything went perfectly. You saw we gave him anesthesia, so he wouldn’t suddenly wake up in the middle of the graft. He’ll be out for a while, but you can all come see him,” he said.

Felicity came forward and wrapped her arms around him with a sigh. Tommy immediately returned the hug. Felicity and Oliver had been through a lot in the almost-five-ish years since they’d met. His father’s planned destruction of the city, Slade Wilson, the League of Assassins, Damien Darhk, Samantha and William, and now Prometheus. Felicity had stayed by Oliver – not to say they didn’t have arguments, they definitely did – through it all, just like he stayed by her. Even though Tommy knew she understood why her husband ran out in green leather every night to fight bad guys, he also knew that it was never, never easy for her to see him get hurt.

Tonight was probably the most hurt he’d ever been. Not just physically, but mentally. Tommy was almost happy Oliver had been unconscious when he came in, as terrible as that made him feel. It was easier to handle Oliver’s physical problems when he didn’t have whatever Felicity, Digg, and Curtis had heard when Oliver returned rattling around his head.

“Thank you,” Felicity murmured, tightening her hug for a moment before she stepped away.

Tommy smiled. It was a small, tired thing, but he knew Felicity needed it. “Anything for you, Smoaky. And Oliver, of course, but we both know I’m really doing it for you,” he teased.

“Can I – ”

“Yeah, you can go see him. He’s in his usual recovery room.”

Felicity smiled tiredly. “I really hate that he has a usual room here,” she said.

“Me too, Smoaky,” Tommy said quietly. “Now, go see your husband. I gave him an adjusted amount of anesthesia for his crazy immune system, but I don’t want to risk him waking up alone and freaking out again.”

Felicity practically teleported away, and then Tommy was left with Digg.

“How is he? Really?” Tommy asked. He’d seen the concern that went deeper than just his injuries. Burns were serious, but they had to know that the physical wounds were nothing beyond Tommy’s skill. There were a few complications to be worried about, but Oliver had an insane ability to defy medical expectations. Digg looked especially haunted.

The man in question sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know, man,” Digg said. “Before he passed out, some of the stuff he was saying… He said he wants to shut everything down. It was like looking at the Oliver of three years ago.”

Tommy groaned. “You mean the one who couldn’t be with someone he really cared about and tried to push everyone away?” he asked.

Digg nodded. “The very one,” he confirmed.

“Well. We’ll just have to make sure he keeps his head on straight this time,” Tommy said, putting his hands on his hips in what Laurel called his Power Doctor Pose. “I’ll call in whoever I have to, pull whatever strings, tie Ollie to a chair and make him talk to a psychiatrist if I have to. Dr. Larsen works here and knows his identity, and she won’t tell anyone.”

“I agree, he needs to open up. He’s never even talked to anyone about his year away, let alone the shitstorm that’s been his life since he came home. But maybe wait before jumping him with that,” Digg cautioned.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I do value my life. I’ll get Felicity to lure him somewhere and then lock the door so he can’t leave,” he said.

Digg cracked a smile, and Tommy counted it as a win. “Whatever, man,” he said.

Tommy gestured for him to follow and they slowly walked down the hallway toward Oliver’s room.

“You can take him back to the lair once he wakes up,” Tommy said. They all knew better than to try and keep Oliver somewhere he didn’t want to be. It was so bad last time, Felicity found a half-finished bedsheet rope hidden behind his pillow. After a screaming match about him being dramatic and the team being overbearing, they’d agreed he could go back to the loft. Under Digg’s strict medical supervision, though.

They waited at the door, watching Felicity talk to Oliver as she held his hand and stared avidly at his face.

“It’s bad this time, Tommy,” Digg admitted quietly.

Tommy crossed his arms and stared at his friend. Oliver had faced death countless times and always overcome it. Even if he wanted to give up this time, Tommy knew that he and his team wouldn’t let him. “We’ll help him,” he said.

Digg and Tommy stared at Oliver – their friend, their partner, the protector of Star City. He’d never given up on them. They weren’t going to give up on him, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think??? I really liked this chapter! I'm still working on the Undertaking one... it's not very easy. It's hard to keep the action present but put Tommy where I think this character would realistically be in a disaster situation: a hospital. There's no way he wouldn't be there to help others since the rest of the doctors probably gtfo'd.
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


End file.
